When saying goodbye, Felix hugged his loan grandfather tightly.

He didn't say much at the table, but it was clear to him that this was a new person who was there for him.

The first meeting between Bernhard Herzog and the then six-year-old went perfectly.

Herzog had agreed to become the boy's godfather.

"Felix and I had 100 percent interests in common," Herzog recalls today, almost five years later.

Pia Heinemann

Editor of Nature and Science

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Felix' mother, a single parent and the driving force behind the unusual grandfather-grandchild couple, adds: "My family lives very widely scattered.

But it was important to me that Felix got an older, male reference person.” The small family of mother and son became a new family through the sponsorship.

"That was good for Felix and it also made my life incredibly relaxed." And maybe the godfather will also help with my health.

Family can be a nightmare, and many people realize that bitterly, especially at Christmas.

But family can also be exactly the opposite: the place where you can let yourself go, where you sometimes argue violently and loudly - but are still accepted, find warmth, joy and unconditional support.

Mother and father, grandparents or even a godfather like Felix's are the most formative elements in life for the social being human.

A stable, good family is essential for the psyche - and, as scientists are slowly realizing, is also good for physical health.

The construct of the family is deeply rooted in evolution - and not a matter of course in the animal kingdom.

In the case of some creatures such as fish or insects, the offspring are left to their own devices after they have laid their eggs. In the case of others, only the mother is responsible, if at all, for the next generation to find a way into life.

Family ties are rare in biology

In biology, fathers, siblings and even grandparents form a bond that lasts a lifetime.

There are many theories as to why, of all things, Homo sapiens initially developed a close-knit nuclear family of mother, father and child, which expanded to include aunts and uncles and – when life expectancy was high enough – grandparents to form an extended family.

They range from better protection against enemies, easier food procurement in the group to the emergence of empathy.

But the fact is: Family is essential for us humans - it shapes each individual from birth and can leave traces for life.

Developmental psychologists and biologists in particular know about the value of early childhood attachment: Accordingly, the early relationship between children and mother or father – or, to put it more neutrally: with the respective carer – determines how resilient and healthy a person is later in life.

This is because the so-called stress axis matures in the first few months of life.

It connects the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal cortices.

If a stress stimulus is perceived and assessed as relevant, nerve cells in the hypothalamus are activated, where the CTR hormone (Cortico Tropin Releasing Hormone) is released.

This releases a cascade of hormones, eventually culminating in the release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex - one of the body's most important stress transmitters.

It narrows the smallest blood vessels, increases blood flow to central organs - and ensures that the body is put into an alert, reactive state.

If there is no dangerous tiger in sight or if the stress factor turns out to be harmless, the hormone cascade of the stress axis is downregulated again – the pituitary and hypothalamus are dampened.