Laptop, Wi-Fi and the family jewels

It may be too soon but if this study checks out in further studies, we may not need the reproductive health bill anymore to manage fertility rates. Men in particular can just continue their love affair with wireless technology and their sperm will turn into slow swimmers and get their DNA, well, hacked.

I am referring to a study that came out online in the journal Fertility and Sterility late November 2011 entitled “Use of laptop computers connected to Internet through Wi-Fi decreases human sperm motility and increases sperm DNA fragmentation” by Conrado Avenda, Ariela Mata, Cesar Sanchez Sarmiento, and Gustavo Doncel.   

It is known that high temperatures affect the quality of sperm or even kill them so the mere fact that you are male working on your laptop placed on well, your lap, which in turn heats up your lap and the vital reproductive parts in the vicinity, already puts the so called family jewels at risk. This is why hot baths for men, as well as jobs that mainly involved driving which heats up the area below the belt, affect male fertility. But what about radiation that is now so common in our wireless age? Radio waves, which are the waves that make Wi-Fi connections possible, is a form of radiation. The scientists wanted to know if this radiation could also affect sperm quality.

The study had sperm samples from 29 healthy donors that were placed on petri dishes which in turn were placed underneath laptops with Wi-Fi connection. For control, they also placed sperm samples under the same temperature but without the laptops or any electronic devices. Since the effect of heat on sperm quality is already known, the researchers maintained a 25-degree C temperature in both groups. The distance between the petri dish with the sperm and the laptop was 3 cm — which was the measured distance between a laptop placed on where else, the lap and the testes.

After four hours of observation, the health of the sperm samples was checked, in terms of their ability to swim (motility) and the integrity of the DNA they carried. The findings showed a significant slowing in the swimming ability of sperm exposed to the laptop with Wi-Fi connection as well as damage in the DNA that the sperm carried. If sperm cells could not swim as fast as they should, the chances of them getting to the finish line, which is the egg cell, become slim. And if at all these “boys” manage to get to the end albeit panting, the DNA they carry in their tiny pockets (sperm is so much smaller than egg cells) are already damaged. The study mentioned that damage in the DNA carried by sperm is associated with “impaired fertilization, poor embryonic development, high rates of miscarriage, and increased incidence of morbidity in the offspring, including childhood cancer.”

As I said in the beginning, if more studies confirm this to be true, those who are against these so-called “artificial” measures of fertility control will have an additional target — Wi-Fi!  Should they take this up in their fight, I propose this line for their campaign: “What does it profit a man that he gains a Wi-Fi connection and loses his sperm?” Knowing the male brain’s affinity for both, it may take time before he can give you an answer.

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