In meerkat society a dominant female is in charge, growling, biting, pushing and shoving to keep others in line. The matriarch's bullying behavior is fueled by high levels of testosterone that can surge to twice those of her male counterparts when she's pregnant.
In meerkat society a dominant female is in charge, growling, biting, pushing and shoving to keep others in line. The matriarch's bullying behavior is fueled by high levels of testosterone that can surge to twice those of her male counterparts when she's pregnant. But while testosterone gives her a competitive edge and helps her keep the upper hand, it can also take a toll on the health of her developing offspring, researchers report.
In meerkat society a dominant female is in charge. Growling, biting, pushing and shoving to keep others in line, the meerkat queen wields absolute power over her subordinates, who have to help raise her pups. The researchers checked the animals' droppings for tapeworm eggs and other signs of parasites. Comparing the pups of dominant and subordinate females, they found that the offspring of meerkat queens -- those exposed to higher levels of testosterone and related hormones in the womb -- tend to carry more gut parasites than other pups.
The new study represents the first evidence in mammals that fetuses exposed to elevated testosterone in utero may have weakened immune function later on. The work is part of a larger field aimed at understanding how animals fend off infections in the wild, beyond the controlled conditions of the lab."By studying wild meerkats, we can explore how real-world conditions -- factors like social status, hormones, and environmental stressors -- interact to influence immune function." Smyth-Kabay said.
Researchers have found that when female mice exposed to PBDEs pass on these neuroendocrine-disrupting chemicals to their developing offspring, the female offspring show traits relevant to autism ...
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