Prairie vole dads are models of dedicated fatherhood. Even among them, however, some dads are more exemplary than others. Now, a new molecules-to-behavior analysis links particularly dutiful fatherhood in these hamster-size rodents to a stretch of DNA that scientists once dismissed as meaningless junk.
DAD’S JUNK. When males carry more of a type of DNA previously considered useless, voles tend to have tighter-knit families.
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