In what is being viewed as a scientific breakthrough, studies conducted at the University of Oxford and Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark have found out that older fathers have more chances of having children who suffer from certain genetic disorders.

An astonishing genetic link between the formation of Spermocytic Seminomas, a begin tumor in the testicles, and numerous rare growth diseases has been found, which is more common among children who are fathered by older men.

Professor Andrew Wilkie, of the University of Oxford, who led the research, said, "What we have seen so far may just be the tip of a large iceberg of mildly harmful mutations being introduced into our genome. These mutations would be too weak and too rare to be picked up by our current technology, but their sheer number would have a cumulative effect, leading to disease".

Findings of this study offer valuable insights into the origin of a number of genetic disorders which, although rare as of now, might be on the rise. Scientists feel that they are now a step closer to finding causes and links for conditions such as Autism, Breast Cancer, Schizophrenia and a rare cause of dwarfism called Achondroplasia.

Details of the study and research have been published in the Nature Genetics Journal.