This article was written by William & Akira
A chimera is an animal which has more than one group of different cells which came from different zygotes, but if the different cells did come from the same zygote, it is called a mosaicism. Chimera can often breed, but the fertility and type of offspring depends on which cell line gave rise to the ovaries or testes; varying degrees of intersexuality may result if one set of cells is genetically female and another genetically male.
Chimerism can happen without genetic interference of scientists, especially with twins. Vanishing twin syndrome (VTS) is when one twin dies during pregnancy and is absorbed by either the mother or the other twin. That twin (or mother) then has another group of cells, the dead twin’s cells.
Chimeras are formed from either four parent cells, where two fertilized eggs or embryo are fused together, or three parent cells, where a fertilized egg is either fused with an unfertilised egg or an extra sperm. Each group of cells retains the same genetic structure and the resulting effect is an animal with a mixture of tissues. Chimerism is largely only associated with animals, but recently much scientific research has been carried out on account of Chimerism in humans. The term used for a human-animal hybrid is parahuman.
Another example of Chimerism in humans is Lydia Fairchild. She was pregnant with her third child when she split up with her partner. When she applied for welfare support, according to the DNA tests, the child she had given birth to was not hers. She was taken to court for fraud. One of the lawyers remembered a case in which the mother was chimeric therefore confusing the DNA tests. It turned out that Lydia was indeed a chimera with two groups of different cells.
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