Non-invasive monitoring of fetal development

Researchers probed the temporal dynamics of gene transcription in the cell-free RNA of pregnant women’s blood plasma.  Microarray techniques and next-generation sequencing data identified and quantified transcripts from specific fetal tissues and placenta.  Findings suggest a route to diagnosing pregnancy complications and fetal abnormalities.  Methods might also identify neurodegenerative disorders.

Noninvasive in vivo monitoring of tissue-specific global gene expression in humans; W. Koh et al; PNAS; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1405528111

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/05/02/1405528111.abstract