Dr Joanne Muter and Professor Jan Brosens collaborated with researchers in Chicago and Buffalo, USA, in a study that used comparative transcriptomics to reconstruct the evolutionary history of gene expression in the pregnant endometrium. The study identified hundreds of genes that were gained or lost in the womb lining of primate and human lineages. Genes that evolved to be expressed at the maternal-fetal interface in the human lineage were enriched for immune functions and diseases, such as preterm birth and pre-eclampsia. Read the paper here