Background: Nowadays, mothers are continuously exposed to different sources of electromagnetic fields before and even during pregnancy.  It has recently been shown that exposure to mobile phone radiation during pregnancy may lead to adverse effects on the brain development in offspring and cause hyperactivity. Researchers have shown that behavioral problems in laboratory animals which have a s...

Within species, larger offspring typically outperform smaller offspring. While the relationship between offspring size and performance is ubiquitous, the cause of this relationship remains elusive. By linking metabolic and life-history theory, we provide a general explanation for why larger offspring perform better than smaller offspring. Using high-throughput respirometry arrays, we link metab...

Linoleic acid (LA), an n-6 polyunsaturated fatty (PUFA), is essential for fetal growth and development. We aimed to investigate the effect of maternal postnatal high LA (HLA) diet on plasma FA composition, hepatic lipids genes involved in lipid metabolism liver adult offspring. Female rats were fed with low (LLA; 1.44% LA) or HLA (6.21% diets 10 weeks before pregnancy, during gestation/lactatio...

AIM/HYPOTHESIS Maternal diabetes and high-fat feeding during pregnancy have been linked to later life outcomes in offspring. To investigate the effects of both maternal and paternal hyperglycemia on offspring phenotypes, we utilized an autosomal dominant mouse model of diabetes (hypoinsulinemic hyperglycemia in Akita mice). We determined metabolic and skeletal phenotypes in wildtype offspring o...

In insects, a parental immune challenge can prepare and enhance offspring immune activity. Previous studies of such transgenerational immune priming (TGIP) mainly focused on a single offspring life stage. However, different developmental stages may be exposed to different risks and show different susceptibility to parental immune priming. Here we addressed the question (i) whether TGIP effects ...

objective: in this study we investigated the effects of spearmint (mentha spicata labiatae) on the reproductive system, fertility and number of offspring in adult male rats. materials and methods: adult wistar male rats in one control (c) and three experimental groups (i, ii and iii) received 0, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg spearmint extract orally for 45 days, respectively.  following this treatment, t...

Life-history theory predicts a trade-off between number of offspring and investment (size) per offspring. An important component of this trade-off is how offspring size influences performance and survival. In this study, we examined the relationships between maternal size, offspring size and clutch size, as well as the relationship between offspring size and performance, in the wolf spider, Hog...

The evolution of parental care is beneficial if it facilitates offspring performance traits that are ultimately tied to offspring fitness. While this may seem self-evident, the benefits of parental care have received relatively little theoretical exploration. Here, we develop a theoretical model that elucidates how parental care can affect offspring performance and which aspects of offspring pe...

The tradeoff between offspring size and number is ubiquitous and manifestly similar in plants and animals despite fundamental differences between the evolutionary histories of these two major life forms. Fecundity (offspring number) primarily affects parental fitness, while offspring size underpins the fitness of parents and offspring. We provide an overview of theoretical models dealing with o...