Cells from mothers may persist in the brain into old age

New Scientist reports that researchers compared brain samples from 37 children undergoing epilepsy surgery with mouth swabs from their mothers and found maternal cells in 26 of the children. The team also analyzed data from three earlier studies and found microchimeric cells—cells originating from another person—in brains from a 22-week-old fetus to people in their 80s. The number of these cells declined with age.