1. A Young Mother’s Medical Mystery Solved By Michelle Montero-Solana Esther Porr Pramita Adhikary

2. 1. Ask a question? A woman applied for public assistance in Washington state for herself and kids She was asked to take a DNA test to prove that the children were hers After receiving a call from the social worker she was told she was not the biological mother and that her DNA did not match her children’s Mother was 100% sure she gave birth to them, OBGYN and family members could back her up The question is why doesn’t this woman’s DNA match her children’s?

3. 2. Make a Hypothesis Upon meeting with the social worker the woman known as Lydia Fairchild rushed home and collected her birth records and pictures to prove she was the mother Her maternity had to be proven, if not legal action would be taken on her and she faced having her kids taken away Initially a hypothesis was formed that Lydia was lying about giving birth in order to claim benefits

4. 3. Research As Lydia faced a judge she collected all of her birth records, pregnancy pictures and ultrasounds to prove she was the mother. Her OBGYN could vouch for the mother’s pregnancies and assured the court that she was the mother Upon further research the doctors testimony was ruled out since her DNA unmistakably did not match the children but that of the father ONLY

5. 4. Experiment A second DNA test was administered to prove that Lydia was lying about giving birth to her children The second DNA test proved that Lydia was not the mother As the defense tried to prove its case, it quickly seemed like this had become a medical mystery

6. 5. Modification of Hypothesis A puzzled prosecutor would now form a new hypothesis If Lydia did give birth and the DNA of the children does not match her own, then she must have undergone in-vitro fertilization or she must be a surrogate mother for another couple?

7. 6. Disproving the Hypothesis Before the prosecutor could test his hypothesis he researched online and came across an article in the New England Journal of Medicine An article about a rare condition called chimerisimthat was documented in 2002 of a Boston woman that needed a kidney transplant. When her family members where tested as possible donors. The results were that she did not match the DNA of her children. Which seemed impossible as the woman assured she had given birth to them.

8. 6. TetragameticChimerisim Upon running several test on different organs in her body it was concluded that the cells in her thyroid matched the DNA of her children but her hair and skin cells had a completely different set of DNA. Therefore this woman suffered a rare condition called tetragameticchimerisim. TetragameticChimerisim is a rare condition in which two fertilized eggs fuse in utero ultimately forming into one individual with two sets of chromosomes or DNA

9. 7. Lydia Fairchild’s Results Upon reading this article the prosecutor quickly presented his findings in court The judge ordered a third DNA exam on Lydia’s hair follicles, skin cells and cervical cells in order to collect as much DNA as possible.

10. 8. Conclusion While Lydia waited anxiously it was concluded that Lydia’s hair and skin contained a set of DNA while the cervical smear contained a different set of DNA which was linked to her children’s Upon much research, hypothesis and experiments tested it was concluded that Lydia Fairchild was the biological mother of the children Lydia is 1 out of 40 documented cases of Chimerisim in the world

11. Lydia got to keep her children and continued to live a normal life If she wouldn’t have gotten tested she would have never known she was a chimera How many more chimera’s are out there that are leading normal lives?