Baby physics: conception, pregnancy and early life

Baby physics: conception, pregnancy and early life

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“The first thousand days” is a common term used by paediatricians to describe the period from conception to the child’s second birthday – a time in which so many critical developments occur. While biologists and neuroscientists have shone a light on this transformation, physicists too can bring fresh insights on conception, pregnancy and babyhood.

This short film explores some of the areas where physics tools can reveal how processes work – and therefore help to develop solutions where problems emerge. For instance, modelling how sperm swim, and how the placenta enables the efficient exchange of gases between mother and developing fetus. Statistical physics can also conceptualise how a child’s language ability usually undergoes a “phase transition” at the age of two to three, when they quickly start to construct complex – and grammatically correct – sentences.

Find out more by reading the feature article ‘The surprising physics of babies: how we’re improving our understanding of human reproduction’.

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