Summary
An offspring’s traits, such as appearance or behavior, are shaped by both its genes and its environment. Scientists now know that parents' experiences, well before offspring exist, also influence offspring traits. This transgenerational parental impact allows parents to help offspring prepare for survival in risky or stressful environments, even if the parents and offspring never physically meet, by altering how genes are expressed (turned on or off) in their offspring. Most research has focused on how mothers pass along information or cues about their environment to their young, but in realit
