With each rotation and revolution taken by this circle of life, scientific advancements and discoveries keep getting astonishing day by day. Especially the breakthroughs which researchers have achieved at the cellular level that have entirely changed the outlook of medical science. For instance, the advancements in genetics.

Ever wondered, that there are few living beings on earth which have their own twin. And this twin is not a separate being, but within themselves. YES, there are such living beings and the condition they have in their special genetic code is termed Chimera.

A Chimera is a single organism that is composed of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from different zygotes involved in sexual reproduction. Each population keeps its own character and the resulting organism is a mixture of tissues. In humans, this condition generally happens when two fertilized eggs fuse in the womb. If the fusion does not happen, the result would be fraternal twins. But when the fusion does take place, you get a twin that is not a visible twin at all.

This condition is generally seen in animals. But till date a few such instances have been recorded in humans. Most people with this strange condition would have no idea and technically will never have any idea that they were a twin. Visibly, there is no difference although; a chimera may have two different colored eyes.

Let us take into consideration the strange case of Lydia Fairchild who was denied public assistance when DNA evidence showed that she was not related to her children. She is the mother of 3 children, none of which seem to carry a trace of her DNA. On testing, the children tested positive for the fathers DNA as well as the DNA of Lydia Fairchild’s mother, i.e. their grandmother. The DNA of her hair and skin cells failed to match the DNA of her children, but when the DNA from her cervical smear was tested, it showed positive results. These results concluded that she had two sets of DNA and that her twin was the mother to her children, at least in the genetic sense.

Munira Loliwala

S.Y.B.Pharm.

Tags: MET Institute of Pharmacy