Photo: Scientist Say Wifi Laptops May Fry Sperm
Argentinian scientists published a report in the medical journal “Fertility and Sterility” describing the effects downloading data via Wifi has on sperm samples.
A group of Argentine scientists placed sperm samples from 29 different men under a laptop connected to the internet during their study.
After being exposed to four hours of constant data downloads through a Wifi connection, a quarter of the sperm were no longer swimming around and 9% of the sperm showed DNA damage.
“Our data suggest that the use of a laptop computer wirelessly connected to the internet and positioned near the male reproductive organs may decrease human sperm quality,” the team wrote in their report.
“At present we do not know whether this effect is induced by all laptop computers connected by Wi-Fi to the internet or what other conditions heighten this effect.”
A combination of heat generated by machines sitting on men’s laps, and the Electromagnetic radiation generated during wireless communication seems to have a dire effect on sperm count, but Robert Oates, the president of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology doesn’t believe laptops pose a significant threat to males.
“This is not real-life biology, this is a completely artificial setting,” he said about the new study. “It is scientifically interesting, but to me it doesn’t have any human biological relevance, ” Oats added while offering his advice on how to harbor healthy sperm. “You should be keeping yourself healthy,” including staying lean, eating healthy foods, exercising, not taking drugs and not smoking” noted Oates.