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Ashok Yadav: Aging in Men Increases Selfish Mutations in Sperm

Ashok Yadav/LinkedIn

Oct 24, 2025, 09:09

Ashok Yadav: Aging in Men Increases Selfish Mutations in Sperm

Ashok Yadav, Biology faculty at Apex Academy, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“A recent study conducted by the Wellcome Sanger Institute and King’s College London has found that aging in men significantly increases the likelihood of transmitting detrimental mutations to their offspring. Researchers have identified a process known as ‘selfish’ selection, where mutated sperm stem cells acquire a growth advantage, gradually dominating sperm production over time. By utilizing advanced DNA sequencing that reads both DNA strands, the research team analyzed over 100,000 sperm from men aged 24 to 75 and identified more than 40 genes where selfish mutations increase with age, affecting genes critical for development, autism, and certain cancers. By age 70, nearly 1 in 20 sperm carries one of these harmful mutations, up from 1 in 50 in men in their early 30s. Notably, lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking, which increase mutation rates in blood cells, do not appear to affect sperm, suggesting that the male reproductive system protects sperm from environmental damage, while selfish mutations still accumulate naturally with age. The findings highlight the influence of paternal age on genetic risks in children. Sources/Credits: Nature, Wellcome Sanger Institute, King’s College London, National Institutes of Health, Scientific American.”