The fortified Toyota Land Cruiser slipped and bounced in the muddy hollows of the rain-drenched Mongolian steppe. The driver, a native Mongolian man named Inka who spoke little English, slowly engineered the vehicle along what just two days earlier was a dusty pair of dirt tracks.

The United States has one of the highest rates of preterm birth—up to 10 percent of all pregnancies—in the world. And many pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia, which contributes to preterm birth, are associated with abnormal placental development.

Some of Myles Owens IV’s fondest memories with his dad are on the family’s boat at Jordan Lake. When his dad passed away in 2015 after a hard-fought battle with prostate cancer, the family spread his ashes at the lake.

On Valentine’s Day 2009, Meg Lindenberger was diagnosed with breast cancer.