Puppies get cell ‘hand-me-downs’ from older siblings
Posted by staff / October 25, 2013 health effectsJeffrey Bryanmicrochimerismpuppies
Researchers have discovered that a female dog can pass a condition known as microchimerism to her puppies while they are still in the womb.
The finding could help researchers pinpoint the health effects of the condition, in which dogs—and people—possess a small number of cells in their bodies that are not genetically their own.
“We already have some evidence that microchimerism may increase risk of thyroid disease while lowering the risk of breast cancer in women,” says Jeffrey Bryan, associate professor of oncology at the University of Missouri.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: mick124/Flickr
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