Tag: Fetal

RIKEN researchers have determined how a protein that transports essential amino acids across the placenta contributes to normal embryonic development in mammals. The placenta provides a supportive environment for developing mammalian fetuses. One of its most important roles is to supply nutrients, including amino acids, from the mother. But the molecular mechanisms behind the supply

Yao Wu, a research postdoctoral fellow in the Developing Brain Research Laboratory at Children’s National Health System, has received a Thrasher Research Fund early career award to expand knowledge about regions of the fetal brain that are vulnerable to injury from congenital heart disease (CHD) during pregnancy. CHD, the most common birth defect, can have

Dengue and Zika viruses are closely related and carried by mosquitos. In infested subtropical and tropical areas, dengue transmission often precedes Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, suggesting that women who previously acquired dengue immunity may be bitten by ZIKV-carrying mosquitoes during pregnancy. Whether that mother’s prior dengue immunity would protect her unborn baby from devastating brain

A new study has shown that despite excellent glycemic control and low glycemic variability throughout their pregnancies, women with type 1 diabetes tended to give birth to infants who were large for gestational age. Researchers documented elevated fetal weight and abdominal circumference percentages throughout the pregnancies that were consistent with accelerated prenatal growth, as documented

With the combined efforts of three Yale laboratories, researchers conducted the first demonstration of site-specific gene editing in a fetus, correcting a mutation that causes a severe form of anemia. The technique, described in a paper published June 26 in Nature Communications, involves an intravenous injection of nanoparticles carrying a combination of donor DNA and

Preterm labor, a common pregnancy complication, has long been a mystery to scientists. But a new study from UC San Francisco shows it may sometimes happen when the fetal immune system “wakes up” too early and begins to reject the mother, causing the uterus to start contracting. The researchers think the fetal immune system becomes