Follow your curiosity

What discovery has been shared with you?

Start with one fact. Explore it, go deeper, then follow whichever branch catches your imagination.

Choose subjects for a surprise

Exploring any topic

Begin your discovery

Your next discovery is one click away.

Choose one or more subjects above, or leave Any Topic selected and let curiosity decide.

Biology

Maternal Effects on Offspring Phenotype in Oviparous Reptiles

Quick fact

In some oviparous reptiles, females can adjust the amount of yolk or hormones they allocate to eggs, and the temperature of the nest they choose can determine the sex of their offspring—allowing mothers to influence offspring traits before hatching, beyond just DNA.

Why this is interesting

A mother lizard can alter her offspring's size, speed, and even sex without changing a single gene. How?