Mothers Share Their Fears With Newborns

In the animal kingdom, it has long been seen that even newborns know to fear certain predators or situations long before they could have possibly learned for themselves about that threat. This has baffled researchers for years, especially among those who scoff at the notion of intrinsic, or "pre-programmed," fears at birth. Now, a new study suggests that these initial fears are not intrinsic, but shared by their mother through odor alone.