Scientists Unlock Secrets Of Ancient Human DNA
But Identifying Chimeras Is Very Difficult
To make problems worse, it is difficult to determine whether someone is a chimera. In 2015, parents realized that their newborn’s blood type and DNA did not match their own. They suspected that the clinic had used incorrect sperm.
Stanford geneticist Barry Starr suggested that the couple get a DNA test. Oddly, the test revealed that the father was the child’s uncle. “Human chimerism is very common, but exquisitely difficult to identify, coming to light almost exclusively by accidents like this,” explained biologist Charles Boklage to Buzzfeed News.