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Fetuses Provide Stem-Like Cells to Mothers

Posted by timothy on from the hedged-language-until-proven dept.

Flatline5150 writes "Excerpt from this article on Boston.com: 'Many a pregnant woman has moments when her fetus seems like a little parasite, all take, take, take. But new research suggests that a fetus may also be giving back a lifelong gift: cells that appear to act like stem cells, migrating to diseased organs in the mother and trying to fix them.'"

6 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. previous research... by Blob+Pet · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm not surprised since previous research has shown that a mother's cells can exist in the blood stream of an offspring several years after birth and the mother's blood stream can contain the offspring's cells as well.

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  2. Life expectancy? by booch · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wow, very interesting. I wonder if that has any effect on life expectancy. I.e. is it part of the reason women live longer than men? It would be interesting to see a study comparing mothers versus non-mothers. Although I suspect that the process of raising kids might have a life-reducing impact, counter-acting the overall numbers.

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  3. mmmmmmmmmm... by BortQ · · Score: 4, Funny
    Let this be a lesson to everyone out there who eats babies.

    Eating pregnant mothers can be even healthier !

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  4. Re:So this means... by isn't+my+name · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, it means I have something to throw back at my mother the next time she starts into her "I carried you in my womb for nine months. . . " routine.

  5. No need for a 'stem cell battle' after all? by zaphodchak · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It seems to me as though this debate could possibly end a long-standing conflict about whether fetuses should or should not be harvested for valuable stem cells, which have various and sundry medical applications. This debate has been similar to abortion, but it seems now as though these cells that are produced might be able to be harvested alone, with no harm to the child, the mother, or the pro-life lobbyists. ;) It seems like a bona fide solution which would allow for stem-cell-like research without need to harvest fetuses. The only problem now remaining is how to extract these cells.

  6. Re:Exciting by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >>Many a pregnant woman has moments when her fetus seems like a little parasite, all take, take, take.
    >That seems to be the most offensive viewpoint I think a parent could take towards their child. Surely they could have come up with a better description? The rest of the article is pretty upbeat about mothers, but starting the article off like that is really offensive.

    Offensive to you only because of your insistence on moralizing a morally neutral phenomenon. In placental mammals, the fetus is parasitic on the mother. There's nothing offensive about that. It simply is the way it is. Your religious viewpoint is leading you to ascribe pejorative values to a biological term that has none.
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