Dads fretting about the coronavirus pandemic face having children with mental health problems, warns a new study. Stress causes damage to men's sperm - harming brain development in future offspring, say scientists.
The findings are alarming as millions of younger men fear losing their jobs - and elderly loved ones. Study corresponding author Professor Tracy Bale, said: "There are so many reasons reducing stress is beneficial, especially now when our stress levels are chronically elevated - and will remain so for the next few months." Experiments on mice and humans found feeling under pressure changes the DNA of vesicles - tiny sacs in semen that help switch on genes in the fertilised egg.