Mamels life animal

Maternal nutritional conditions during pregnancy are known to have substantially affect infant development. This was most clearly demonstrated by research into the outcomes of infants from the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944 . Because determination and differentiation of cell lines occur during embryonic development, nutritional conditions and other environmental insults early during pregnancy can substantially alter offspring phenotype, including behavior and general health. For example, the Hunger Winter produced different results depending on whether the mother’s nutrition was most interrupted during the first, second, or third trimester, or during lactation.   photo from Dutch Resist ance Museum Since then, systematic research into fetal programming and developmental origins of health and disease ( D o H A D ) has identified that early life nutritional conditions affect numerous physiological systems and organ structures, putting individuals at later risk for kidney, liver, heart,

On January 31, 2013 I was invited to give a mini-talk to Harvard undergraduates about a "Big Idea." Although I wasn't able to talk specifically about my own research, I was able to highlight why milk is awesome, why everyone should care, and how that caring should translate in the community. I have embedded the 12 minute video and the text (minus the flubs) that goes along with it below. click video to play “Why Mammals Suck”   Imagine a magic potion. This potion includes all of your calories and water. It has fatty acids to build your brain, glucose to fuel it, amino acids to build muscles, minerals to build your bones. vitamins, immunofactors, hormones. The things you need at the times you need them. Oh, and one last thing, your mom makes it just for you. This magic potion, of course, is milk and is why mammals suck.  The synthesis of milk by mammary glands is the defining characteristic of our mammalian class- its where we get out name. Dobzhansky said “ Nothi