Offspring

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In biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, a new organism produced by one or more parents.

Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This can refer to a set of simultaneous offspring, such as the chicks hatched from one clutch of eggs, or to all the offspring, as with the honeybee.

Human offspring (descendants) are referred to as children (without reference to age, thus one can refer to a parent's "minor children" or "adult children"); male children are sons and female children are daughters. See kinship and descent.

The word "fetus" is derived from the Latin word for "offspring." In humans, the fetal stage begins eight weeks after conception, when all of the major organs have been formed.

For more information about Offspring, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with offspring

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Many pregnant women avoid HIV screening in Africa

Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 1.5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

'Prevention is the best cure' is a common expression, but what happens if preventative measures are not used? A large proportion of pregnant Ugandan women are going out of their way not to be HIV tested, increasing the risk ...


Are female mountain goats sexually conflicted over size of mate?

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Mountain goats are no exception to the general rule among mammals that larger males sire more and healthier offspring. But University of Alberta researcher David Coltman has found a genetic quirk that might make female mountain ...


Bacteria expect the unexpected

Bacteria expect the unexpected: Scientists observe the emergence of a new adaptation strategy

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Organisms ensure the survival of their species by genetically adapting to the environment. If environmental conditions change too rapidly, the extinction of a species may be the consequence. A strategy to ...


Female choice benefits mothers more than offspring

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2

The great diversity of male sexual traits, ranging from peacock's elaborate train to formidable genitalia of male seed beetles, is the result of female choice. But why do females choose among males? In a new study published ...


A chimpanzee enjoys frozen fruit treats

Chimpanzees help each other on request but not voluntarily

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0

The evolution of altruism has long puzzled researchers and has mainly been explained previously from ultimate perspectives—I will help you now because I expect there to be some long-term benefit to me. However, ...


Asthmatic children: Did mom use her pump during pregnancy?

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 05, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Expectant mothers who eschew asthma treatment during pregnancy heighten the risk transmitting the condition to their offspring, according to one of the largest studies of its kind published in the European Respiratory Jo ...


New research discovers worker bees in 'reproductive class war' with queen

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Bee colonies are well known for high levels of cooperation, but new research published in Molecular Ecology demonstrates a conflict for reproduction between worker bees and their Queens, leading some workers to selfishly exploi ...


Puppies born from the world's first cloned dog will be offered to good homes later this year

Pups from 1st cloned dog to be distributed to public

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3

Puppies born from the world's first cloned dog will be offered to good homes later this year, South Korean researchers said on Thursday.


Here's One Inheritance You Don't Want

Medicine & Health / Health

created Aug 05, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- If your mother smoked during her pregnancy, you are more likely to be addicted to nicotine as a young adult.


Researchers look to imprinted genes for clues to fetal growth restriction in cloned swine

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 20, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), which results in low birth weight and long-term deleterious health effects in cloned swine, is linked ...


Researchers develop process for 'surgical' genetic changes

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 3

Research led by scientists at Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute has resulted in a process that will make genetic changes in plant genes much more efficient, practical and safe.


Battle of the sexes benefits offspring, says research

Battle of the sexes benefits offspring, says research

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 06, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Parents compensate for a lazy partner by working harder to bring up their offspring, but not enough to completely make up for the lack of parenting, says research by bird biologists at the University of Bath.


Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep

Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep

Biology / Evolution

created Jul 02, 2009 | popularity 3.1 / 5 (10) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research due to be published in ...


Lack of happiness hormone serotonin in the brain causes impaired maternal behavior in mice

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jun 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A lack of serotonin, commonly known as the "happiness hormone", in the brain slows the growth of mice after birth and is responsible for impaired maternal behavior later in life. This was the result of research conducted ...


A bad performance is better than no performance at all

Canaries: A bad performance is better than no performance at all (w/Audio)

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 27, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The learning of birdsong resembles the learning of speech in humans. Crucial for the process are acoustic perception and the ability to produce sound. Social isolation leads to a disturbed ...