Miniature placentas grown in lab give positive pregnancy test result

Studying mini placentas could help understand the real things

Studying mini placentas could help understand the real things

Science Photo Library / Alamy Stock Photo

Tiny human placentas grown in a dish are so close to the real thing that they can fool a pregnancy test into giving a positive result. The aim isn’t to develop a full-sized placenta, but to study why some pregnancies go wrong.

Most cells used in lab studies form a flat layer when grown in a dish. This unnatural environment means they don’t behave as they would when surrounded by other cells in the body.

In the past few …