Science

Fascinating new study quantifies how many more genetic mutations occur in offspring of older parents. Couple of key findings:

- the age of the dad matters more than the age of the mom

- a dad aged 50 will cause ~ twice as many more gene mutations in their offspring than a kid aged 25

So if you want your kid to be genetically closer to your and your partner, procreate early.

But if you see humans as just vessels for selfish genes, then you can *accelerate* evolution by procreating late, thus creating more opportunities for selective pressure to do its job and shape the next iteration of Homo sapiens

(Article is paywalled but available on sci-hub)

Fascinating new study quantifies how many more genetic mutations occur in offspring of older parents. Couple of key findings:

- the age of the dad matters more than the age of the mom

- a dad aged 50 will cause ~ twice as many more gene mutations in their offspring than a kid aged 25

So if you want your kid to be genetically closer to your and your partner, procreate early.

But if you see humans as just vessels for selfish genes, then you can *accelerate* evolution by procreating late, thus creating more opportunities for selective pressure to do its job and shape the next iteration of Homo sapiens

(Article is paywalled but available on sci-hub)

https://doi.org/cdd9

PhD in aviation ∩ climate science | Aviator, diver, ETH maxi, nexialist | Host of /diving /ethfinance /eth-staker /geopolitics /science /singapore /thomas

Makes sense as eggs are created early on (near birth) and stored, sperm created daily, so mutations build. Most mutations are not happy accidents, they can lead to miscarriages and genetic disease. Have kids as early as you can then.