Add Mobile Phones To The List Of Modern Tech That Could Make You Sterile

from the uh-oh dept

A couple years ago, a story spread quickly about how men using laptops on their laps could harm their fertility. Apparently, that’s not the only technology that’s a problem. A new study is saying that mobile phone use may increase male infertility as well. Remember back when we were just worried about mobile phones causing cancer? Of course, the study sounds a bit extreme. It found that men who spend an average of four hours a day using their mobile phones tend to have reduced sperm counts. The researchers behind the study say more research is needed (also known as: give us another grant) to determine exactly what’s causing the problem: radiation, battery heat, both or something else. A different report on the study suggests that constant text messaging, rather than talking, may be partly to blame: “Sending text messages uses less power than talking but it can be a more intense emission of radiation… I’ve seen men on trains spending two or three hours continually texting with their mobile phones held in their laps, and they press Send in the same position when it starts to seek a signal.” So now you know. Until further research is done, if you plan on having kids, you might want to hold your phones (and laptops) away from your laps.


Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “Add Mobile Phones To The List Of Modern Tech That Could Make You Sterile”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
14 Comments
Chronno S. Trigger says:

Cell phones

Cell phones DON’T PRODUCE RADIATION. They run on a 2.5Ghz radio range (Depending on your phone) Just like wireless routers, cordless phones, and however many hundreds of other things. Unless your phone is powered by plutonium, your fine.

The problem is that there just sitting there causing a lack of blood flow to the lower arias. It can also cause a stroke. How many people do you know who text for 4hours strait have real sex lives anyways.

lj535i says:

Re: Cell phones

@Chronnos

A couple of points:

Radiation is the correct word. Anything that emits electromagnetic energy gives off radiation. Light bulbs emit radiation- visible light- which generally isn’t considered hazardous to living organisms. Plutonium gives of radiation in a different frequency range which *is* harmful to life.

Most cell phones these days work in the 800mhz or 1.9ghz band. The *implication* in various studies of this nature is that 1.9ghz is close enough to the microwave band (2.4ghz) to cause slight heating of water in the cells and thus affect their function- usually negatively. Sperm production in particular is very sensitive to added heat- that’s why it takes place outside your body.

WiFi routers (802.11b and g) communicate in the 2.4ghz band- same as your microwave oven. Cordless phones frequently use a combination of 2.4 and 5.8.

I agree with you however that some who texts four hours a day has issues of more significance than holding a microwave heater too close to his pickle.

So you think you know? says:

“Dr. Hyland and other MDs worry that cell phone’s deep penetration into children’s brains and the resulting disruption to the subtle electronic exchanges between brain cells could cause kids to lose the ability to concentration and remember, making it impossible to learn.”

new research from Sweden’s Lund University Hospital corroborates the Spanish findings. The Swedes also found that exposure to radiation emitted by mobile handsets and neighborhood relay towers can destroy cells in the parts of the brain responsible for memory, movement and learning.

Professor Leif Salford, the neurologist who carried out 15 years of research said, “We saw opening of the blood-brain barrier even after a short exposure to radiation at the same level as mobile phones.”

Salford added, “We had already shown that mobile phone radiation can allow harmful proteins and toxins to pass through the blood-brain barrier. Now we also see a significant degree of damage to neurons in the brains of adolescent rats. If this effect is transferred to young humans the effects can be terrifying.”

Why is this research from Europe? Maybe because they are ahead of the US in wireless communications, thus a bigger risk?”

No one knows why autism and ADD are on the rise, maybe this is one of the reasons.

A guy I work with told me that he can “feel” when he walks near a WiFi network. Who the hell knows. Oh, he used to work for SBC, so he is no stranger to technology or communication devises.

Add Your Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...