Sperms pass on stress from dad to kid

Men not only pass traits to their offspring, but pass some stress too!

Stress alters the expression of small Ribonucleic Acids (RNAs) in male mice and leads to depressive behaviours in later generations, a new research suggests. The mice show depressive behaviours that persist in their progeny, researchers said.

In the study, Isabelle Mansuy, a neuroscientist at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and her colleagues periodically separated mother mice from their young ones and exposed the mothers to stressful situations.

These separations occurred every day but at erratic times, so that the mothers could not comfort their pups (termed the F1 generation) with extra cuddling before separation.

When raised this way, male offspring showed depressive behaviours, the study found. The F1 males’ offspring, the F2 generation, showed similar depressive behaviours and metabolism disorders.

If men learn to manage stress, their kids will be born with less stress and will be able to manage stress better!