WEDNESDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Men who have kids later
in life may pass on more new genetic mutations to their
offspring, possibly raising their child's risk of disorders such
as autism and schizophrenia, new research suggests. New
mutations arise in the sperm cells of men near the time of
conception instead of being passed down through generations.
They have been associated with relatively rare cases of non-
hereditary autism. Researchers in Iceland searched the genomes
of 78 families for new mutations as they first appeared and
looked at how the number of these mutations in children was
related to the age of their parents. In most of the families,
the child had either non-hereditary autism or schizophrenia. The
study, which was published Aug. 22 in the journal Nature, found
that every year a man ages, he is predicted to pass on more than
two additional new (or "de novo") mutations. More than 97
percent of these new mutations in children were explained by
having an older dad. "The father is an incredi