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Inherent mosaicism and extensive mutation of human placentas - just published in Nature

11 March 2021

Tim H. H. Coorens, Thomas R. W. Oliver, Rashesh Sanghvi, Ulla Sovio, Emma Cook, Roser Vento-Tormo, Muzlifah Haniffa, Matthew D. Young, Raheleh Rahbari, Neil Sebire, Peter J. Campbell, D. Stephen Charnock-Jones, Gordon C. S. Smith & Sam Behjati. Abstract Placentas can exhibit chromosomal aberrations that are absent from...

The final version of Sovio and Smith:Comparison of estimated fetal weight percentiles near term for predicting extremes of birthweight percentile is now available

24 February 2021

Background The INTERGROWTH-21st estimated fetal weight percentiles are recommended for predicting extremes of birthweight percentile, although evidence for their superiority over the widely employed Hadlock method is lacking. Objective This study aimed to compare the ability of estimated fetal weight percentiles calculated...

Continuous human uterine NK cell differentiation in response to endometrial regeneration and pregnancy just published in Science Immunology

24 February 2021

Benedikt Strunz 1 , Jonna Bister 1 , Hanna Jönsson 1 , Iva Filipovic 1 , Ylva Crona-Guterstam 1 , 2 , 3 , Egle Kvedaraite 1 , 4 , Natalie Sleiers 1 , Bogdan Dumitrescu 5 , Mats Brännström 6 , Antonio Lentini 7 , Björn Reinius 7 , Martin Cornillet 1 , Tim Willinge Sebastian Gidlöf 2 , 3 , 8 , Russell S. Hamilton 9 , 10 ...

Interesting perspective on "Placental mitochondria central to gestational diabetes pathogenesis?"

24 February 2021

Gestational diabetes (GDM) affects up to ∼1 in 6 pregnancies worldwide, representing ∼18 million births each year. It causes excessively big babies and difficult deliveries. There is also a strong link with the development of type 2 diabetes in the mother in later life. A failure of the mother to produce enough insulin and...

“Distinctive phenotypes and functions of innate lymphoid cells in human decidua during early pregnancy” selected as most exciting Immunology work published at Nature Communications

27 January 2021

Congratulations to Oisín Huhn, Martin A. Ivarsson, Lucy Gardner, Mike Hollinshead, Jane C Stinchcombe, Puran Chen, Norman Shreeve, Olympe Chazara, Lydia E. Farrell, Jakob Theorell, Hormas Ghadially, Peter Parham, Gillian Griffiths, Amir Horowitz, Ashley Moffett, Andrew M. Sharkey and Francesco Colucci on their paper “...

Study by the Zernicka-Goetz lab highlights the role of zygotic genome activation in regulating the timing of cell polarization

8 January 2021

Zhu M, Cornwall-Scoones J, Wang P, Handford CE, Na J, Thomson M, Zernicka-Goetz M. During the early stages of the pregnancy, the cells of the mammalian embryos differentiate into trophectoderm (TE), the progenitors of the placenta; and inner cell mass (ICM), the clump of cells that will give rise to embryonic tissues and...

Air pollution and pre-eclampsia; associations and potential mechanisms

5 January 2021

Elizabeth Bearblock, Catherine E. Aiken, Graham J. Burton Abstract Introduction Air pollution has significant negative health impacts, particularly on the cardiovascular system. The aims of this narrative review were to identify whether there is an association between air pollution and the incidence of pre-eclampsia, and...

Developmental programming of the female reproductive system—a review

5 January 2021

Sijia Yao , Jorge Lopez-Tello , Amanda N Sferruzzi-Perri Abstract Exposures to adverse conditions in utero can lead to permanent changes in the structure and function of key physiological systems in the developing fetus, increasing the risk of disease and premature aging in later postnatal life. When considering the...

HYPOXIA AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: Oxygen and development of the human placenta - just published

4 January 2021

Graham J Burton, Tereza Cindrova-Davies , Hong wa Yung and Eric Jauniaux Abstract Development of the human placenta takes place in contrasting oxygen concentrations at different stages of gestation, from ~20 mmHg during the first trimester rising to ~60 mmHg at the start of the second trimester before gradually declining...

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, Head of the Department of Genetics, new Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research

18 December 2020

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, a Fellow of Darwin College and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University, has been appointed as Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research for one year from 1 January 2021. She takes over the role from Professor Chris Abell, who died suddenly in October. Professor Ferguson-Smith is...

Inherent mosaicism and extensive mutation of human placentas - just published in Nature

The final version of Sovio and Smith:Comparison of estimated fetal weight percentiles near term for predicting extremes of birthweight percentile is now available

Continuous human uterine NK cell differentiation in response to endometrial regeneration and pregnancy just published in Science Immunology

Interesting perspective on "Placental mitochondria central to gestational diabetes pathogenesis?"

“Distinctive phenotypes and functions of innate lymphoid cells in human decidua during early pregnancy” selected as most exciting Immunology work published at Nature Communications

Study by the Zernicka-Goetz lab highlights the role of zygotic genome activation in regulating the timing of cell polarization

Air pollution and pre-eclampsia; associations and potential mechanisms

Developmental programming of the female reproductive system—a review

HYPOXIA AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: Oxygen and development of the human placenta - just published

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, Head of the Department of Genetics, new Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research

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