Studies shine light on mysterious placenta, how it goes awry

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists carefully probe a placenta donated after birth, bluish umbilical cord still attached. This is the body’s most mysterious organ, and inside lie clues to how this giver of life forms — and how it can go awry, leading to stillbirth, preterm birth, even infections like the Zika virus that somehow sneak past its protective barrier.
In labs around the country, major research is underway to finally understand and monitor this floppy, bloody tissue that&rsq