Chimeras

My boyfriend came home from the farm yesterday with a heaping bag full of basil. He plopped it onto the counter and said, "Let's make pesto while listening to this crazy Radiolab episode i started while tractoring." Seriously, have sexier words ever been spoken?

Anyway, the story was about this woman who, after having DNA testing done on herself and her children to see if they were a match for an organ transplant, discovered that her children's DNA didn't match her own. Their DNA matched her husbands, but somehow, even though she had literally given birth to them, it did not match hers. . . and we all know from basic biology that this doesn't add up. After her doctor did extensive testing and research (but not before she was accused of a baby swap/theft), it was discovered that she was a chimara: someone with two sets of DNA due to a fusing of two embryos. How crazy is that? Some of her organs have one set of DNA and the others have another! She is basically her own twin. Listen to the story HERE

When i saw the collage below, by Maria Aparicio Puentes, it reminded me of the Radiolab story i'd heard.

Below is an illustration of a mythological Chimera (what the medical condition is named after). It's composed of the parts of multiple animals: Lion, snake, and goat.

. . . and this is the lunch I made us yesterday.