#foetal development

Lung Development Map

Simultaneous analysis of over 30 proteins expressed by single cells produces a spatial map of cell types in the first trimester developing human lung – a resource for studying characteristics underlying respiratory health and disease

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Sanem Sariyar and colleagues

Science for Life Laboratory, Solna, Sweden

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, October 2024

Prenatal Flavours

You may have heard of stories of expectant parents talking to their ‘bump’ in case they can hear, or getting a kick from the baby if they feel your hand. But what about their sense of taste? Can they turn their noses up at flavours before they are born? Well it turns out they can! Researchers recorded foetal facial expressions after mothers were given a particular flavour to eat. Here, ultrasound scans show the foetus’ expression before (left) and after (right) the mother had eaten some kale, apparently showing its reaction to the bitter flavour. This shows that a foetus can detect and distinguish different flavours whilst in the womb. It could also mean that child food preferences could be influenced before birth depending on the mother’s diet. Perhaps if a mother consumed lots of kale during pregnancy, then their child wouldn’t dislike that flavour profile later in life.

Written by Sophie Arthur

Image from work by Beyza Ustun and colleagues

Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Psychological Science, September 2022

As more states legalize marijuana, more women are talking to their doctors about pot use during pregnancy — and obstetricians are grappling with the best way to have that conversation.

“Women are much more forthcoming about reporting. But we’ve changed the way that we ask as well,” said Dr. Camille Hoffman-Shuler, an OB-GYN at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who has studied marijuana use in pregnancy.

Obstetricians say it’s critical that providers start asking women explicitly about marijuana use in pregnancy, because many women don’t consider marijuana a drug and won’t disclose using it when a provider asks broadly about drug use or smoking.

“It’s important to ask, just like we ask whether you drink alcohol, ‘Do you smoke marijuana or use a CBD cream?’ It’s important to ask specifically,” said Dr. Leena Nathan, an OB-GYN at UCLA Health.

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More than half of unborn babies in Britain are exposed to higher levels of toxic air pollution because heavily pregnant women are more likely to depend on travelling by car, research suggests. Air pollution levels are almost double inside a car compared to walking, and about 57 per cent of women use cars more in the later stages of pregnancy, according to a study released for Clean Air Day. This equates to around 2.6 million unborn babies being exposed to higher levels of air pollution over the last six years, the research, carried out by Opinium, shows. 

 Previous studies have suggested links between pregnant women’s exposure to high levels of air pollution and increased risk of miscarriage, premature births, low birth weight, infant mortality and childhood respiratory problems. “The rest of society needs to recognise that for pregnant women sometimes travelling in a car is the only option and that we all have a role to play in reducing the pollution affecting the next generation,” said Chris Large of environment charity Global Action Plan, which coordinated the research.