sarahmichelef

No, seriously. Babies' Cells Linger, May Protect Mothers. This is pretty nifty, but the part of it that I'm finding most thought-provoking is the fact that they MAY act in ways similar to stem cells. There's one woman in the story who had had 5 pregnancies who was later diagnosed with hepatitis. And there was some evidence that these fetal cells had rallied the troops and were actually CREATING NEW, HEALTHY LIVER CELLS. The woman refused treatment, and when they followed up with her some time (months? years? Either they didn't say or I don't remember) later, she was completely healthy.

Also, these cells are present based on CONCEPTION, not carried-to-(something approximating)-term pregnancies. So the woman above, who'd had 2 miscarriages, 2 abortions, and one birth, has the fetal cells present from all five conceptions.

Am I the only one thinking that this in and of itself may have major research implications? (Looks pointedly at the science types.)