Sperm Affected by Age of Men
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The older men get, the more damaged their sperm are genetically, University of Washington researchers have reported. This could help explain recent findings that show older men are more likely to father children with birth defects, as well as to be less fertile than younger men, they said.
Geneticist Narendra Singh and his colleagues tested 66 men ages 20 to 57 and found the older men produced a higher percentage of sperm with highly damaged DNA. Besides age, sperm production can be affected by environmental damage that comes with age, such as smoking, chemicals and sunlight, the researchers said.
