Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Parental Care

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.

Teratogenicity

Teratogenicity

The ability of a drug to produce structural deformations and functional abnormalities in the developing embryo or the fetus is called teratogenicity, and the drug producing this effect is known as a teratogen. Teratogenic effects include stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction, and neurocognitive delay. A teratogen may affect the embryo at different stages of development, which is important in determining the type and extent of the damage. During blastocyst formation, the early...

Fertilization

Fertilization

During fertilization, an egg and sperm cell fuse to create a new diploid structure. In humans, the process occurs once the egg has been released from the ovary, and travels into the fallopian tubes. The process requires several key steps: 1) sperm present in the genital tract must locate the egg; 2) once there, sperm need to release enzymes to help them burrow through the protective zona pellucida of the egg; and 3) the membranes of a single sperm cell and egg must fuse, with the sperm...

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...

Development of the Oral Microbiota

Development of the Oral Microbiota

The establishment of the oral microbiome begins before birth, challenging the long-held belief that the fetal oral cavity is sterile. The presence of oral microbes such as Streptococcus and Fusobacterium in amniotic fluid suggests that microbial exposure may occur in utero, potentially through translocation from the maternal oral or gastrointestinal tract. This early colonization primes the neonatal immune system and sets the stage for subsequent microbial succession. Maternal health,...

Imprinting

Imprinting

Behavioral imprinting is observed in some newborn animals and occurs when they develop strong and specific attachments to another animal (usually a parent) following brief, early-life exposures. Offspring imprint onto parents within a brief period after birth or hatching; this time window is called the critical period. Once imprinting occurs, the bond established between the parents and their offspring is usually long-lasting.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Environmental influences on seminal plasma: Molecular and functional insights.

The Journal of reproduction and development·2026

Same author

Seminal fluid effects on female reproductive function in laboratory, livestock, and domestic species.

The Journal of reproduction and development·2026

Same author

Estrogen receptor alpha and beta chromatin interactions govern ovarian folliculogenesis but dissipate during ovulation.

Endocrinology·2026

Same author

Seminal fluid cytokines in reproductive health and fertility of men.

Fertility and sterility·2026

Same author

Treg cells retain stable lineage commitment during pregnancy in mice after late gestation inflammatory challenge.

Immunology and cell biology·2026

Same author

Seminal plasma cytokines in fertile versus infertile men: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Human reproduction update·2026

Same journal

Erratum for the Research Article "Detecting supramolecular organic nanoparticles during heat wave".

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same journal

Local signals, systemic decline.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same journal

The mechanics of liver regeneration.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same journal

Computing in a memory with physics.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same journal

Retraction.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same journal

Making time.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

Parenting from before conception.

Michelle Lane¹, Rebecca L Robker¹, Sarah A Robertson²

¹The Robinson Research Institute and School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, The University of Adelaide, Level 3, Medical School, South Adelaide, SA, 5005 Australia.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|August 16, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Parental age and environmental exposures impact embryo development through genomic and epigenomic information. These factors, including DNA methylation and noncoding RNAs, influence a child's lifelong health, beginning before conception.

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Long-Term Health Impacts of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection on Offspring

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Long-Term Health Impacts of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection on Offspring

Published on: May 17, 2024

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Published on: April 5, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Long-Term Health Impacts of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection on Offspring

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Long-Term Health Impacts of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection on Offspring

Published on: May 17, 2024

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period

Published on: April 5, 2024

Area of Science:

Reproductive Biology
Developmental Biology
Epigenetics

Background:

Fertilization establishes the embryonic genomic blueprint, influenced by parental age and environment.
Parental history and experiences affect offspring through epigenomic information beyond DNA sequence.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the role of parental epigenomic information in programming embryonic and fetal development.
To understand how transgenerational epigenetic effects influence lifetime health outcomes in children.

Main Methods:

Review of recent studies on parental influences on offspring epigenetics.
Analysis of variations in sperm and oocyte cytosine methylation, chromatin patterning, noncoding RNAs, and mitochondria.

Main Results:

Parental epigenomic factors, including methylation and noncoding RNAs, are transmitted to the embryo.
These transgenerational epigenetic effects interact with conception conditions to program development.

Conclusions:

Parental epigenomic information significantly influences fetal development and lifelong health.
Biological parenting begins before conception, challenging traditional notions of prenatal development.