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Placenta to the rescue

Nature (2011)Cite this article

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In times of starvation the placenta protects the fetus from brain dysfunction.

The placenta has long been thought of as a passive organ that simply enables a fetus to take up nutrients from its mother. But new research in mice shows that when calories are restricted, the placenta steps up to the plate – actively sacrificing itself to protect the fetal brain from damage.

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References

  1. Broad, K. D. & Keverne, E. B. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1106022108 (2011).

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  1. Zoë Corbyn
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Barry Keverne

Michael Skinner

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Corbyn, Z. Placenta to the rescue. Nature (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.449

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.449

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