Science introduced genetic testing as a new legal benchmark for
identity,and it has been widely adopted.But chimerism,although still poorly understood,is casting a shadow over this vital tool we use to determine who we are.Yet the condition's most problematic aspects are more philosophical and psychological - what is the real basis for our individuality?Science writer Claire Ainsworth muses:“Rather than being isolated individuals,perhaps we should see ourselves more as a collective - an individual made of many other different individuals”Keegan and Fairchild,meanwhile,have had to loam to cope with the emotional impact of their newfound genetic selves and their roles as mothers“Telling my sons about this was the hardest part,”says Keegan, “because I felt that part of me hadn't been passed on to them”
In Greek mythology,the chimera was a terrifying, fire-breathing
monster that was part lion,part goat,and part snake.Now,the mind- bending possibility that we may actually be two persons,not one, seems almost as scary a notion as the mythical Greek monster.We may be carrying a silent twin within us,someone who might have been a brother or sister if conditions in the womb had been slightly different. Until scientists loam more,and genetic testing improves,the chimera w加continue to peer from the shadows at our very notion of the self.
(38)What is one thing the author tells us when explaining the
experience of Lydia Fairchild?