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A COVID infection can literally impact a man’s future children… A new study in suggests that COVID-19 infection in fathers could have consequences that extend beyond their own health, potentially affecting the mental well-being of their offspring. Researchers at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne infected male mice with SARS-CoV-2, then bred them with uninfected females and analyzed the behavior and brain biology of their young. All offspring of infected fathers showed more anxious behaviors than those whose fathers had not been infected, with female offspring displaying particularly marked changes in genes active in the hippocampus, a brain region central to emotion regulation. The work, published in Nature Communications, indicates that COVID-19 altered specific RNA molecules in sperm that help regulate genes involved in brain development, pointing to an epigenetic route by which paternal infection could shape offspring behavior. While the findings raise the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic could have long-lasting effects on future generations, the researchers emphasize that the results are currently limited to an animal model and must be tested in humans. If similar sperm RNA changes and behavioral outcomes are observed in people, the implications for millions of children—and for global public health strategies—could be substantial, especially when added to the already documented mental health and educational impacts of the pandemic on younger generations. Together, this emerging line of evidence suggests that COVID-19’s legacy may not be confined to infection and mortality statistics, but may also extend into the biology and mental health of the next generation. Reference Kleeman, E., Gubert, C., Hannan, A., et al. (2025). COVID-19 causes changes in sperm that lead to increased anxiety in offspring. *Nature Communications*.