Grandparents favor genetically close grandchildren
Thursday, April 29, 2010 - 06:50
in Psychology & Sociology
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research suggests that grandparents naturally and subconsciously favor the grandchildren who are most closely related to them genetically. The phenomenon is called "sexually antagonistic grandparental care," and it has been known for some time that a grandmother will naturally prefer her son's daughters (with whom she shares 31 percent of her genes) to her son's sons (with whom she shares only 23 percent, suggesting she will most nurture the grandchild who inherits more of her genes.