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Unplanned pregnancy? Pause
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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A team of specialists from California is sure that the development of the fetus inside the womb can be suspended without negative consequences for both the woman and the future child.
While scientists managed to stop the development of the embryo within the mother's body for a month, after which the fetus again continued to develop normally. According to experts, it is possible to stop pregnancy for a much longer period of time, but this will require a number of additional studies, in addition, this process requires considerable resources from the mother's body.
Such a discovery was made at the University of California while studying the processes that occur in rodents during pregnancy. In the course of the work, the scientists stopped the development of the embryo inside the females and started it again. After the termination of term of pregnancy and sorts females felt well, and cubs were absolutely healthy.
As already noted, stopping for a while pregnancy can only be for a certain period - a maximum of 30 days, but the embryo should be at an early stage of its development, otherwise negative consequences are possible.
Scientists in their report also noted the interesting fact that the body is able to independently halt the development of the embryo - this happens, so to speak, in emergency situations, when, for example, the mother is starving or the life of the embryo is threatened by any external factors. The main role in this is played by the mTOR protein and the higher the concentration of inhibitors of this protein, the longer the "pause" time during pregnancy.
American experts are sure that the discovery will be useful not only in studying the development of embryos, but will also help develop a cure for cancer, as well as fight the aging of the body. Experts point out that stem cells or cancer cells can also be introduced into hibernation, and if scientists can find mechanisms to manage this process, this will be a real breakthrough in the treatment of cancer and the fight against aging.
According to scientists, the development of the embryo can be stopped for a longer period, but in this case the mother's body will work for wear, which naturally will immediately affect the health of women.
Experts noted that this discovery, as well as a number of other important discoveries, was made entirely by accident. According to the head of the research project such possibilities of the mammalian organism became a real surprise for scientists. The researchers planned to study the effect of the mTOR protein on the growth of embryonic cells, and as a result, suppression of the protein led to the embryo's "hibernation".
Experts did not stop there and continued their work with stem cells, which were obtained from the embryo at an early stage of development. As a result, these cells also plunged into a state of suspended animation after manipulations with the mTOR protein.
Presumably, the "pause" during pregnancy reduces the activity of most genes, only those that are capable of suppressing gene activity remain active. Specialists once again stressed that they did not face the immediate task of stopping the development of the embryo for a while, or finding an effective method of treating cancer or rejuvenation.