Offspring
hideIn 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
Whiteflies sabotage alarm system of plant in distress
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When spider mites attack a bean plant, the plant responds by producing odours which attract predatory mites. These predatory mites then exterminate the spider mite population, thus acting ...
Variable Temperatures Leave Insects wtih a Frosty Reception
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, scientists at The University of Western Ontario have shown that insects exposed to repeated periods of cold will trade reproduction for immediate survival.
Opposites attract: Monkeys choose mating partners with different genes
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The world's largest species of monkey 'chooses' mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study.
Are female mountain goats sexually conflicted over size of mate?
Nov 17, 2009 |
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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: Scientists observe the emergence of a new adaptation strategy
Nov 04, 2009 |
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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 ...
Many pregnant women avoid HIV screening in Africa
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 19, 2009 |
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'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 ...
Female choice benefits mothers more than offspring
Oct 22, 2009 |
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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 ...
Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep
Jul 02, 2009 |
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(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 ...
What your mother did when she was young has an effect on your memory
Feb 03, 2009 |
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A mother's life experience can affect the biology of her offspring, according to new animal research in the February 4 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The study shows that a stimulating environment improved the memory ...
Chimpanzees help each other on request but not voluntarily
Oct 14, 2009 |
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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, ...
Rapidly evolving gene contributes to origin of species
Biology /
Feb 05, 2009 |
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A gene that helped one species split into two species shows evidence of adapting much faster than other genes in the genome, raising questions about what is driving its rapid evolution.
Mothers pass on disease clues to offspring
Biology /
Jan 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When there is a threat of disease during pregnancy, mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered.
Mothers pass on disease clues to offspring
Dec 24, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When there is a threat of disease during pregnancy, mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered.
New research discovers worker bees in 'reproductive class war' with queen
Sep 09, 2009 |
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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 ...
Housing shortage alters reproductive behaviour in blue tits
Mar 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Increased competition for rare breeding sites causes female blue tits to invest more time in their current brood, to spend more time feeding their offspring and also to produce more male offspring ...
