The years of our fathers: paternal age and the rate of de novo mutations

Aging fathers. An increase in risk of aneuploidies, i.e. chromosomal aberrations such as Trisomy 21, is well established with maternal age.  Whether the paternal age also increases the risk for disorders in the offspring had long been disputed. However, a connection between paternal age and autism has been found in recent years. Now a recent study in Nature finds a surprisingly strong correlation on the genetic level… Continue reading