Report suggests: Older Dads Raise Risk For Autism

A recent report suggests age may factor due to copying of genetic material in sperm DNA possibly increases the risk of autism

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KABC: “Researchers say their findings may factor in the increasing autism rate. About 30% of new autism cases involve older fathers.”

Article

So scientists have focused on the question of whether testicles become less efficient as men age, allowing errors or mutations to creep into the sperm genome. This is the first study to firmly establish that random mutations across the genome rise significantly as men age. That this may be possible should not be a surprise: sperm are produced quite quickly (about 1,000 with each heartbeat) and by the age of 50 the sperm precursor cells in testicles will have divided more than 700 times, with the potential for error each time.