Oncology & Cancer

How does pregnancy reduce breast cancer risk?

Being pregnant while young is known to protect a women against breast cancer. But why? Research in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research finds that Wnt/Notch signalling ratio is decreased in the breast ...

Medical research

Human heart tissue development slower than other mammals

The walls of the human heart are a disorganised jumble of tissue until relatively late in pregnancy despite having the shape of a fully functioning heart, according to a pioneering study.

Obstetrics & gynaecology

Caffeine linked to low birth weight babies

Maternal nutrition is important to a developing embryo and to the health of the child later in life. Supplementing the diet with specific vitamins is known to increase health of the foetus for example folic acid (vitamin ...

Immunology

Natural killer cells played a vital role in human evolution

(Medical Xpress)—Natural killer cells – a vital part of the immune system – have a dual role in protecting against infection and ensuring reproduction. Scientists suggest that the multi-tasking ability of these cells ...

Genetics

An embryo that is neither male nor female

So, is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) ...

Neuroscience

A new type of nerve cell found in the brain

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, in collaboration with colleagues in Germany and the Netherlands, have identified a previously unknown group of nerve cells in the brain. The nerve cells regulate cardiovascular ...

Health

Irish government to legalize life-saving abortion (Update)

Ireland's government pledged Tuesday to pass a law soon that will allow women to receive abortions if continued pregnancy threatens their lives—including from their own threats to commit suicide if denied one.

Other

Japan firm offers 3D model of foetus

Expectant parents in Japan who can't wait to show the world what their baby will look like can now buy a three-dimensional model of the foetus to pass around their friends.

Medical research

Fetuses yawn in the womb, according to new research

The 4D scans of 15 healthy fetuses, by Durham and Lancaster Universities, also suggest that yawning is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors another index of a fetus' health.

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