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IMAGE: Photomicrographs of tissue taken from the intestines of infant mice and grown in culture as intestinal organoids, or enteroids, that are basically "mini-intestines " for research. The enteroids shown are from...
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Credit: C. Sodhi, W. Fulton and D. Hackam, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Medical researchers have long understood that a pregnant mother's diet has a profound impact on her developing fetus's immune system and that babies -- especially those born prematurely -- who are fed breast milk have a more robust ability to fight disease, suggesting that even after childbirth, a mother's diet matters. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these connections have remained unclear.