DISQUS

Think Gene: Clues to ancestral origin of placenta emerge in Stanford study

  • rosemary · 1 year ago
    "It is the only organ to develop in adulthood" - but it's an organ of the fetus, no? it's genetically the fetus's.

    i assumed with multiple placental mammal births that each fetus had its own placenta. is that not true?
  • Josh Hill · 1 year ago
    Yes, that is correct. The placenta is from the fetus. However, since it integrates with the mother and also becomes part of her body, I would say that it's just as much the mother's organ as it is the fetus's; it just has the genotype of the fetus. I'm not an expert in this field, so I don't know if other scientists actually consider it to be the mother's organ.