Researchers have made headway in studying the development of the placenta during pregnancy. This information could potentially lead to changes in fertility treatment which could significantly reduce the likelihood of losing a baby to ectopic pregnancy. This problem is a big issue for people dealing with infertility so resolving it has the potential to reduce a lot of the heartache that surrounds fertility treatment.
"By manipulating a specific gene in a mouse blastocyst -- the structure that develops from a fertilized egg but is not yet an actual embryo -- scientists with the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute caused cells destined to build an embryo to instead change direction and build the cell mass that leads to the placenta." (source)
This discovery allows for more complete understanding of the relationship between the development of the embryo and that of the placenta. This provides insight into the complete development of the baby and gives researchers a starting place for further studies related to reducing ectopic pregnancy.
Question of the Day: Is it likely that we will see ectopic pregnancy reduced in the near future as a result of this new study?
