During the first weeks of pregnancy, the developing placenta in a mother's womb undergoes a dramatic change. Individual cells ...

Pluripotent stem cells — which have the ability to differentiate into any cell type in the body — have enormous potential for regenerative medicine and for uncovering the developmental biology ...

Now, scientists at Scripps Research have identified a key player in the placenta's transformation-a molecule called ...

A deficit in the way the placenta expresses the gene for a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) appears linked to insulin resistance during pregnancy, researchers reported. Photo by ...

New research found a possible explanation for the benefits of maternal exercise on fetal development, in obese mothers: it's down to improved placental function, which prevents the fetus from growing ...

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) discovered that placental malperfusion (PMP), a condition that disrupts blood flow in the placenta, is common in fetuses with congenital heart ...

Changes occur in the placenta in older pregnant mothers leading to a greater likelihood of poor health in their male offspring, a study in rats has shown. Both male and female fetuses do not grow as ...

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been linked to poor growth of the placenta, causing conditions such as fetal growth restriction and low birth weight. Although most women cease drinking once ...