Decoding how some animals pause pregnancies could unlock new cancer treatments
Putting your pregnancy on pause until the time is right to give birth sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but for many mammals what's known as "embryonic diapause" is an essential part of raising their young.
Although scientists have known since the 1850s that some animals have this ability, it is only now becoming clear how it could teach us valuable lessons about human pregnancy, stem cells, and cancer.
More than 130 species of mammal can pause their pregnancies. The pause can last anywhere between a couple of days and 11 months. In most species (except some bats, who do it a little later) this happens when the embryo is a tiny ball of about 80 cells, before it attaches to the uterus.
It's not just a single group of mammals, either. Various species seem to have developed the ability as needed to reproduce more successfully. Most carnivores can pause their pregnancies, including all bears and most seals, but so can many rodents, deer, armadillos, and anteaters.
More than a third of the species that take a breather during gestation are from Australia, including some possums and all but three species of kangaroo and wallaby.
The record-holder for pregnancy pause time is the tammar wallaby, which has been studied extensively for its ability to put embryos on hold for up to 11 months.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @02:34AM (5 children)
A paused pregnancy was a major plot point in Excession by Iain M Banks. I thought he made up the concept just like sex changes at will without surgery which was also a plot point. I had no idea mammals could pause pregnancies for real.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Thursday November 21 2019, @03:09AM (4 children)
Lots of species can also change sex without surgery. I don't know of any mammals that can, but given that the ability has evolved in various insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, I doubt there's any particular reason it wouldn't be possible in mammals too.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday November 21 2019, @03:56PM (3 children)
I've definitely not heard about the capability in birds, the one case I know for sure is frogs, and there are various ocean creatures that can be both are both or something like that.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday November 21 2019, @04:36PM (1 child)
Further reading suggests that in birds it's not actually a functional reproductive change.
Clownfish (aka Nemo) are one striking example amongst fish - they're all born male, and the basic family unit is one large female accompanied by a group of her small male children. If something happens to her, one of the males will grow and become female to take over her role. Not exactly Disney-friendly...
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday November 22 2019, @12:32AM
- mom
- what
- where's my dad
- we're clownfish nemo
- so what
- here, read some wikipedia about our species
- ew
Disney just embellished it a bit
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @05:54PM
Clown fish definitely can change.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_change [wikipedia.org]