Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 3 October 1997:
Vol. 278. no. 5335, p. 34
DOI: 10.1126/science.278.5335.34
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

News

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY:
Males Mutate More, Bird Study Shows

Steven Dickman

For the last 90 years, geneticists have noted that children of older fathers tend to suffer more from genetic diseases, the standard explanation being that because sperm-producing cells divide throughout males' lifetimes, there are many more opportunities for mistakes to occur as the DNA copies itself than in egg cells. The notion has been hard to prove directly, but in this month's issue of Nature Genetics, a pair of Swedish researchers present evidence from studies in birds that show that mutation rates really are higher in males.

Read the Full Text

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)