Our genes and environment interact to make us what we are.
Pre-natal and early post-natal experiences can influence our health later in adulthood, particularly our propensity for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But, how this happens is poorly understood.
We compare adult health measures (e.g. blood pressures) in mice with contrasting pre- and post-natal environmental and genetic histories.
This study will shed light on how early-life environment and genetics are translated into later life health.
We measure blood pressure in mice using a Visitech BP-2000 monitor. This inflates a cuff around each mouse’s tail, similarly to the arm-cuff used on patients, while the mouse sits in a warm, darkened restrainer.