3D printed mini-placentas offer a new way to study pregnancy complications

By Claire Richards, Lecturer in Biotechnology, University of Technology Sydney
Lana McClements, Associate Professor & Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow, University of Technology Sydney

The placenta is a unique organ which exists only during pregnancy, growing at tumour-like speed to the size of a small dinner plate. The placenta is essential to the growth of every baby, but we’re missing key details about how it develops.

Studying the placenta during pregnancy is difficult, as taking samples risks introducing infection or triggering miscarriage. And placental tissue after birth is very different from its early form.

Animal placentas are often distinct from human ones, so studying them is of limited use. Pregnancy researchers have been left in the dark…

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