A prenatal test that analyzes a mother’s blood and father’s saliva may one day be all it takes to check a fetus for genetic illnesses, replacing one that requires drawing fluid from the uterus, a study suggests. Scientists have sequenced the DNA of a fetus at 18 weeks of pregnancy using the technique. Their analysis found 39 of the baby’s 44 brand-new mutations, not shared with either parent, according to the study published today in Science Translational Medicine.
