India, Nov. 17 -- Indian scientists have identified a genetic "switch" inside the uterus that allows an embryo to implant and begin pregnancy.

The study, published in the online research journal 'Cell Death Discovery' on November 10, is the first to map how two genes work like opposing levers, one opening the uterine lining and the other closing it, to ensure that pregnancy begins at precisely the right moment.

The research, led by Dr Deepak Modi of ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (NIRRCH), Mumbai, shows how the genes, HOXA10 and TWIST2, act as a coordinated system that either seals the uterine wall or softens it briefly to let an embryo embed itself. Other participants in the study which combined m...