offspring

6 Stories

People With Psych Disorders Marry Each Other

Researchers analyze health data of more than 700K people in Sweden

(Newser) - When looking for love, people with psychiatric disorders tend to look toward their own, one new study suggests. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden report in JAMA Psychiatry that they combed the health histories of 707,263 people admitted to hospitals in Sweden between 1973 and 2009 and who...

Kids Could Look Like Mom's Ex, Not Like Dad

At least in the fruit fly population, telegony study claims

(Newser) - Guys may unknowingly be leaving their mark on the world: Scientists from the University of New South Wales in Australia have taken on what was widely considered to be the discredited theory of telegony—the idea that a woman's children might resemble not just her current sexual partner, but...

Deep-Sea Octopus Guards Eggs for Years—Sans Food

4.5 years is the longest known brooding or gestation period of any animal

(Newser) - Talk about endurance. Elephants endure 20-month gestation periods, and some deep-sea sharks carry their embryos for even longer than that, but the deep-sea octopus takes the cake. Scientists say they've observed one in California guarding her eggs for 4.5 years, the longest known brooding or gestation period of...

Mammal Moms Can Choose Baby's Sex
 Mammal Moms Can 
 Choose Baby's Sex 
STUDY SAYS
Jul 11, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

Mammal Moms Can Choose Baby's Sex

They subconsciously produce boys or girls, based on a slew of factors

(Newser) - Call it "sneaky Machiavellian girl power," as the lead researcher does in the Washington Post . His study in PloS One concludes that female mammals have the innate ability to determine the sex of their offspring. It's not a conscious decision—the expectant moms somehow factor in a...

Parental Angst Is Real Star of 'Evil-Kiddie' Movies

(Newser) - Murderous children have haunted movies since the 1950s—but why, Jonah Weiner wonders on Slate. “The biggest reason for this is the most obvious,” Weiner notes. “What’s creepier than a 4-foot-tall killer in Spongebob pajamas?” But the personification of evil in a child reveals deeper-seated anxieties....

Female Finches 'Pick' Sex of Chicks

(Newser) - The female Gouldian finch can control the sex of her egg to produce the strongest possible offspring, the BBC reports. The species comes in two head colors, red and black, and same-color mates are more compatible. If a female finds herself with a different color mate, her offspring will be...

6 Stories