Hidden Guests: Migrating Cells and How the New Science of Microchimerism Is Redefining Human Identity

“It’s a topic that could seem very abstruse, but she gets the message across clearly: Do you realise your genome is not just yours as an individual? You have samples of the genomes of a lot of other people residing permanently within you, and, good grief, that’s a scary thing. What does that mean? I’ve got no idea, but it’s a fact, and she describes very clearly how the maternal genome is inserted into the offspring, not only in the obvious way through the egg, but in other ways, and equally there is back-influencing from the embryo to the mother which was entirely unexpected. There’s also sampling of genomes between siblings. So there’s a shock aspect, and she tells the science in an accessible way that makes it really clear.” Read more...

The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize

Michael Benton, Scientist