Some Mammals Can Just… Pause Pregnancy

Embryonic diapause is a process where over 130 mammal species can pause pregnancy, delaying embryo development. This occurs during the blastocyst stage and can last months or years, allowing animals to optimize offspring production or delay birth until conditions are favorable. Diapause is influenced by environmental cues like hunger and temperature, affecting the mTOR enzyme, which regulates cell growth based on nutrient availability. While humans have mTOR, we cannot pause pregnancies, indicating other factors are involved. Understanding this process could have future applications.

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