Tick Tock: Men's Biological Clock Ticks Too
Women aren't the only ones whose biological clocks tick louder as they get older. There is new research suggesting that men need to stop pushing the snooze button and start making babies, if they are so inclined.
A number of studies have shown that men's age at conception can affect the outcome of the pregnancy and also the baby's health. An Icelandic study shows that aging sperm carries genetic risks and may be tied to the increase in autism and schizophrenia. It shows that men possibly pass on more genetic mutations to their babies than women do. The researchers also found that the number of mutations increase as a man ages.
Another study suggests that older sperm increases the rate of miscarriage, even if the woman is younger and healthy.
When the Icelandic study came out, it was the most emailed article of the day on the New York Times website. A writer for NYMag received that article many times from well-meaning friends, once with the subject line: “For all those Peter Pans reveling in arrested development.”
But is all of this news about declining baby-making powers changing the single man's behaviour? This writer at Chatelaine thinks so. He says the news made him reconsider his dating patterns and that he is now actively looking for the mother of his children.
But at the age of 34, will she still be looking for him, or chasing a younger man with better-quality sperm?
Want more chaos? Last year, I asked if some child obesity ads went too far and shamed the kids.
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