Chimerism

[SaraX5]

I dont know if anyone else watches the Learning Channel, but the other day I was watching a show on there called " I am my own twin" which was mainly about people that have chimerism. Chimerism or people that are chimeras (meaning monster) basically have 2 sets of DNA.
The program was about two different mothers and how when each mother had DNA tests done with their children it came out that they were NOT their childrens mother. One of the mothers had to go to court and risk having her children taken away from her because the state thought that she had tried to use her sisters or someone elses children as her own for welfare aid. As it turns out in both cases, 2 different sets of DNA were gathered from some of the same areas of the body. In one place, 1 DNA might be dominant, whereas in another area, the other DNA is dominant. There was also a case of chimerism where one set of DNA was male & the other set was female. A baby was born w/ male internal reproductive parts of the right side of his body & female internal reproductive parts on the left side. What was also strange was that above his belly button, the right side had darker skin pigments whereas the left side had lighter skin pigments. The difference was so clear that it looked as if someone had drawn a line down the center of the babys chest. The reason that the 2 mothers didnt have the physical evidence of chimerism is because both sets of DNA were female & not half & half as the baby was. The scienists on the show were talking about how it is very rare to know or find out if someone is chimeric and everything is based on DNA so heavily these days that people with this condition who have commited crimes may go unpunished because the DNA doesnt match or vice versa. Also, how so many DNA tests are done to figure out who a childs father is where sometimes that childs father could come out negative on a DNA test because that person could be chimeric. Its scary how society and the legal systems rely so much on DNA testing and even that has flaws.

sorry i wrote so much but i just found this to be so fascinating and thought everyone else might think a little differently about DNA testing after this.

[D.Choe]

kinda freaky, but cool

[Cliff]

i saw that too...very odd condition

[HEATON]

So scientificly they were born as if their parents commited incest? Not trying to be gross or w/e but its true, bc the X and Y chromosomes would be off count, it wouldnt be the full 24 and 24. Right? ( i think the # is 24 from each, bc its like what 48 for a 'healthy' adult.)

[Cliff]

it happens when there are two twin embyos that while still developing join together and one of the 2 embryos essentially die but it's DNA is retained with the other embryo so when the baby is born it has it's own DNA and also it's "dead" twins.....lol it was on CSI last night also

[Trey]

I also watched the show and though it was very interesting, since I have a fraternal twin (opposite sex).

What was fascinating was if the twins eggs are both boys or both girls, no one ever really knows anything is different unless a DNA test is done after they are born and from different body parts. BUT, when the twins are boy/ girl and the eggs merge, the child is born with all sorts of anomilies, mainy of which they are hermaphrodite, (both male and female genitals) like the baby mentioned above with the line down the center of the belly.

[Cliff]

it is definately a unique thing and quite interesting to see

[SaraX5]

yea i know... thats why i said its scary that for years we have relied so heavily in the courts and for paternity tests and now that whole theory can be thrown out the window if you have two sets of female or two sets of male dna... no one will ever test out the possibility that you may be chimeric. Like how many men have come out negative in paternity tests? How many criminals are walking the streets because their dna didnt match??? :confused:

[Trey]

Actually it's 100% DNA from the mother and 100% DNA from the father vs 50% of each like it should be and not two sets of female or two sets of male DNA. ;)

[SaraX5]

I'm not 100% on the exact details, but I do know that Yes, they receive chromosomes from both parents but in the case of DNA for the chimeric baby that was half male half female... he had both female and male DNA. However, in the case of the 2 women whose dna didnt match with their childrens the women both had two seperate sets of female dna in which each was more prevalent in different organs and parts of the body therefore explaining why their dna didnt prove to match their childrens with the areas that were tested. But it did match in other areas.

[ahmonrah]

hmm...interesting