Babies in the Womb May See More Than We Thought- Brianna Patrickio

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Babies in the Womb May See More Than We Thought
This article focused on the developing fetus and light sensitively to the retina. A scientist from The University of California, Berkeley, has found new evidence that by the second trimester of pregnancy that ganglion cells have more connections than previously thought. These cells in the retina were thought to just send messages to the brain through the optic nerve. They would transmit messages controlling the closing and opening of the retina based on the intensity of the light entering. Even though the pupils are not yet developed and their eyes are closed this isn’t stopping the ganglion cells from picking up on the light entering through the outside of the mother’s stomach. They also control our day and night cycle that we learn at an early age, this early age is as soon as these ganglion cells can sense the presence of light from the womb. Marla Feller, a UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology and senior author of a paper that appeared this month in the journal Current Biology says "Maybe not for visual circuits, but for non-vision behaviors. New evidence has also been found threw studying mice and monkeys that the retina may connect to the brain in a different way then just light reflexes but lights effects on emotions and explain problems like light-induced migraines and why light therapy works for depression. These could be connected to how a mother carries her baby whether it be the activities that she participates in or how much electrically generated light she is exposed to that affects the development of the ganglion cells.
The cross-cutting concepts that would relate to this article are Structure and Function and Cause and Effect. The cross-cutting concept Structure and Function applies to this article because the ganglion cells were discovered to have a new function than previously thought. The cells also talk to each other or communicate throw gap connections this has to do with the structure of the cells. Cause and effect also play a role in this topic because of the way the mother carriers the fetus may determine what effects the newly developing ganglion cells. This could mean more restrictions for women when pregnant to protect the child, and it seems or be that the as the wold matures and grows the more problems they find in babies that lead back to the mother’s behaviors and the overall environment around them.

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