MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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Older fathers pass on more new genetic mutations to offspring
By artappraiser on Wed, 08/22/2012 - 3:34pm |By Rosie Mestel, Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2012
Men who become fathers later in life pass on more brand-new genetic mutations to their offspring, a study has found — probably contributing to disorders such as autism and schizophrenia in the next generation.
The finding, published online Wednesday in the journal Nature, buttresses earlier observations that rates of autism and some other disorders are more prevalent in children born of older fathers, sometimes by a factor of two or more, experts said. Though this has been observed for years from population studies, scientists had not known what lay behind it.
The new research, made possible by recent advances in DNA-sequencing technology, also should help correct an overemphasis on the riskiness of women giving birth at older ages, some researchers said [....]
URL:
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-older-fathers--genetic-mutations-autism-schizophrenia20120822,0,4956716.story
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