New York, NY (AHN)-A recent study published in the July 2006 issue of Epidemiology indicates that new fathers in their 40s and 50s are slightly more likely to have an infant with a low Apgar score than fathers in their 20s.

The Apgar score, which was first created in 1952, rates the newborn on five parameters: respiratory effort, heart rate, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and skin color with a value of 0 to 2 (worst to best) for each. Thus, a total score of 10 is optimal. The score is calculated at 1 and 5 minutes after birth

A man who has been slightly unconscious for nearly 20 years recovered miraculously by slowly improving on his speech and movement. His brain rewired itself to form tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash according to sources.

Doctors tell AP that Terry Wallis, 42, is the only person in the United States to recover so dramatically so long after a severe brain injury. He is still assisted when eating and cannot walk. But his speech continues to improve and he can count to 25 without interruption adds the AP

It's not only expectant mothers who suffer from the bouts of morning sickness. Fathers-to-be might find themselves suffering during the early morning as well as postnatal depression, too.

A new 2006 Pregnancy Book by Britain's Department of Health gives advice for both mothers and fathers on what they can expect during pregnancy

A WHO report confirmed the mutation of the H5N1 bird flu virus in a family cluster in Sumatra Island, Indonesia on Friday. The virus, infecting eight members of a family and killing seven, looks like it has mutated in a 10-year-old boy.

The AP says it is widely believed that the boy passed on the virus to his father according to a WHO investigation

Although men who have had vasectomies have been able to father children after having the procedure reversed, new data suggests vasectomies can damage sperm. If men think they may change their minds later about having children, a fertility expert advises that they freeze their sperm prior to the operation.

Reuters reports, Professor Nares Sukcharoen, of the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in Thailand says men who had a vasectomy reversal and who took part in a small study had a higher number of chromosome abnormalities than men who had not had the surgery