Remember that guy who said that giraffes had long necks cause they strained up to get nice leaves, so their offspring had taller necks? The Darwinians, especially when genetics came along, laughed at that.

But... studies have now found that may not be total nonsense.

For males - it is during puberty, and females at conception - the diet of the parents can affect the metabolic rate of the offspring - and things like rates of diabetees. When the 'germ cells' are formed - the eggs for the female and the sperm for the male - there now seems to be some evidence that environmental factors CAN feed into the genetic material...