Vivek Lal, University of Alabama at Birmingham (IMAGE)

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Vivek Lal, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Caption

The lungs and placentas of fetuses in the womb -- as young as 11 weeks after conception -- already show a bacterial microbiome signature, which suggests that bacteria may colonize the lungs well before birth. This first-time finding deepens the mystery of how the microbes or microbial products reach those organs before birth and what role they play in normal lung and immune system development.

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UAB

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