“Though the evidence is compelling that certain conditions in the womb can have lifetime effects, it’s not entirely clear how.One theory, though contested, is that early life trauma leaves chemical marks on genes that change how they operate – epigenetics. To establish this connection would require collecting genetic material in early stages and associating it with outcomes decades later, said Colter Mitchell, PSC Faculty Associate. ‘That’s an exceedingly challenging study design in humans, though work to do so is underway,’ he said.”

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