Having friends may not only be good for the health of your social life, but also for your actual health—if you're a hyena, that is. Strong social connections and greater maternal care early in life can influence molecular markers related to gene expression in DNA and future stress response, suggests a new University of Colorado Boulder study of spotted hyenas in the wild.
source https://phys.org/news/2021-07-early-life-social-gene-stress-resilience.html