Placenta on a Chip

In order to learn more about the biochemistry of the human placenta, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development brought together an international research group to devise a placenta-on-a-chip device which mimics the mother-fetus interface. The chip has two chambers—one with maternal placenta cells, and the other with fetal umbilical cord cells—with a semipermeable membrane between them. Thus far, the device has shown how glucose transits, with future goals of discovering the mechanisms for blocking pathogens and toxins.   MORE

Image Credit: NIH.gov