At that very moment, I began to look at myself differently, and I've looked at every female baby ever since then with that knowledge. No matter how tiny they are, the next generation is all there within them — just waiting to spring forth.

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With male babies, the fact of the matter is, you're buying futures: Men generate sperm as they go. I don't mean to denigrate this miracle of life, but it's part of why men can continue to father children more or less indefinitely. It's the girls who have a definitive end to it — at least without serious technical intervention.

So, if you have a daughter of any age, and things eventually go according to plan, your grandchildren are already walking around your house, eating your food and asking to borrow your car — they're just using your daughter as an agent.

In all these years, I have never learned anything quite so palpable, until today. In new published research, scientists have found that stem cells from a fetus make their way into the mother's blood and that these stem cells appear to hang around more or less indefinitely. That means, if you're ever been pregnant, there is evidence that stem cells from each of your pregnancies are still in your body. But wait! There is further evidence, that these leftover fetal cells can and do rebuild portions of your body.

And how, I wondered, would they know this?

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The medical researchers have found the exact male DNA of sons in portions of their mother's bodies — in areas which have sustained injury and have repaired themselves naturally. The same is most likely true for female offspring, but in these early stages, it's so much easier to look for Y chromosomes, indisputably making the male presence known.

Once again, my perception of my very own body instantly changed. I have two sons. I carried them both onboard for nine long months, and while they're both launched into their independent and busy lives, it's stunning to think that they are still a part of me, that their tiny cells are in me right now, ready to act for my future health.

Science will continue to study this, and may well find that it's not all that cut and dry. Still, the possibilities are fascinating: Could some day I be able to donate back to them those fetal cells to help repair their own bodies? Could I place them in a cell bank for use at a later date? And get ready for more. No doubt, some lawyer is formulating the argument right now, "Actually, your honor, this doesn't prove my client was at the crime scene! It could have been his mother!"?

I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.

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