ICMR scientists find gene switch enabling pregnancy

Study maps HOXA10-TWIST2 interaction that opens uterine lining briefly, explaining embryo implantation and start of pregnancy

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A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research seeking to explain how a pregnancy is initiated has led to the discovery of a "genetic switch" that allows an embryo to implant itself on the wall of the womb, leading to conception.

For a pregnancy to begin, the embryo must first attach and embed itself in the wall of the mother's womb. But how this happens has remained a mystery.