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Older Fathers: Rising Mutations in Sperm Linked to Age

10/9/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Older paternal age increases the chance of passing disease-causing mutations to children due to faster growth of mutant cells in testes.
Genome sequencing shows 1 in 50 sperm in their thirties carries a mutation; by 70, nearly 1 in 20.
Researchers sequenced over 100,000 sperm from 81 men to identify mutations in genes that drive excessive stem-cell proliferation.

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Story summary

Older paternal age increases the chance of passing disease-causing mutations to children due to faster growth of mutant cells in testes.
Genome sequencing shows 1 in 50 sperm in their thirties carries a mutation; by 70, nearly 1 in 20.
Researchers sequenced over 100,000 sperm from 81 men to identify mutations in genes that drive excessive stem-cell proliferation.