Radiation: It may be convenient, but using a laptop on your lap could be harming your sperm, say researchers.(dailymail.co.uk)
Working on a laptop wirelessly may hamper a man’s chances of fatherhood.
In a study, sperm placed under a laptop connected to the internet through wi-fi suffered more damage than that kept at the same temperature but away from the wireless signal.
The finding is important because previous worries about laptops causing infertility have focused on the heat generated by the machines.
In the latest study, researchers took sperm from 29 men aged 26 to 45 and placed them either under a wi-fi connected laptop or away from the computer.
The laptop then uploaded and downloaded information from the internet for four hours.
At the end of the experiment, 25 percent of the sperm under the laptop had stopped moving and 9 percent showed DNA damage.
By comparison, just 14 percent of samples kept away from the wi-fi stopped moving. And just 3 percent suffered DNA damage, the journal Fertility and Sterility reports.
The wireless connection creates electromagnetic radiation that damages semen, the scientists, from the United States and Argentina, believe.
Lead researcher Conrado Avendano, of Nascentis Medicina Reproductiva in Cordoba, said: ‘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.
‘At present we do not know whether this effect is induced by all laptop computers connected by WiFi to the internet or what use conditions heighten this effect.’
A separate test with a laptop that was on, but not wirelessly connected, found negligible EM radiation from the machine alone.
According to the American Urological Association, nearly one in six couples in the US have trouble conceiving a baby, and about half the time the man is at the root of the problem.
While the impact of modern technology is still murky, lifestyle does matter, researchers say.
Earlier this month, a report in Fertility And Sterility showed that men who eat a diet rich in fruit and grains and low in red meat, alcohol and coffee have a better shot at getting their partner pregnant during fertility treatment.
使用接入无线网络的笔记本电脑可能会造成男性不育。
在一项研究中，放置在开通无线网络的笔记本下面的精子比放在同一温度下但远离无线信号处的精子受损程度更深。
这项发现很重要，因为之前关于笔记本电脑引起不育的矛头都指向电脑产生的热量。
在这项最新研究中，研究者收集了29名年龄在26到45岁之间的男子的精液，并将其分别放在连接无线网络的笔记本电脑下面和远离电脑的地方。
接着，笔记本电脑连续四个小时在网上上传下载信息。
实验结束时，放在笔记本电脑下面的精子中，有25%不再游动，另有9%DNA受损。
而远离电脑的精子中，只有14%不再游动，并且仅有3%出现DNA损伤。这项研究报告发表在《生育与不育》期刊上。
来自美国和阿根廷的科学家认为，无线网络产生的电磁辐射会损害男性精子。
阿根廷科尔多瓦生殖医学中心的负责人康拉多•埃芬达诺说：“我们的数据显示，如果把联通无线网络的笔记本放在靠近男性生殖器的地方，会损害精子质量。”
“目前尚不清楚是否所有笔记本连接无线网络时都会产生这种影响，也不清楚何种使用方法会加剧这种作用。”
在另一项实验中，研究人员还测量了开启、但没有接通无线网络的电脑辐射量，发现这时的电磁辐射几乎可以忽略不计。
美国泌尿协会统计的数字显示，有近1/6的美国夫妇不孕不育，其中一半的原因在男方。
研究人员称尽管现代科技的影响还不清楚，但是生活方式至关重要。
本月早些时候，《生育与不育》的一项报告显示，在生育治疗中，多吃水果和谷物，少吃牛羊肉，少喝酒和咖啡的男性让伴侣怀孕的机会更高。
wifi: 无线上网
electromagnetic radiation: 电磁辐射
red meat: 红肉，牛羊肉