Molecular Memory: How a Mother's Age Echoes in Her Offspring's Cells

Molecular memory: How a mother's age echoes in her offspring's cells

In humans and many other animals, a mother's age can affect the physical and behavioral characteristics of the next generation. Scientists call these changes maternal age effects, and while they are widespread across the animal kingdom, researchers still don't fully understand how or why they occur.

Understanding how maternal age impacts offspring health across different species

In humans and many other animals, a mother's age can affect the physical and behavioral characteristics of the next generation.

Molecular memory: How maternal age leaves lasting marks on offspring cells

A tiny aquatic animal is offering scientists a new explanation for one of biology’s most persistent mysteries: how a mother’s age can influence the characteristics of her descendants. Research on the rotifer Brachionus manjavacas suggests that maternal age effects may be transmitted not through the gradual accumulation of DNA mutations or cellular damage, but through reversible epigenetic changes that regulate gene activity. The findings, from a…