Males who place a laptop on their laps with the WI-FI on might have a greater risk of reduced sperm motility and more sperm DNA fragmentation, which could, in theory, undermine their chances of becoming fathers, researchers reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility this week.
This study was done in an artificial setting. The male participants were not tested with the laptops on their laps – semen samples were taken, placed under laptops for four hours, and then analyzed.
Previous studies had already shown that placing a laptop on a man's lap could potentially affect his fertility, especially if this occurs frequently and for long periods. The laptop can cause scrotal hyperthermia (elevated testicle temperature), which can considerably affect the quality of his sperm
In this new study, the authors explain that not only might the laptop-on-lap undermine semen quality, but also the Wi-Fi, if the laptop is near semen. They found that there was less damage when there was no Wi-Fi signal than when there was.
The double-whammy of the Wi-Fi signal and laptop temperature can cause:
- A decrease in human sperm motility
- Sperm DNA fragmentation – irreversible changes in the genetic code
Perhaps the electromagnetic radiation emitted by Wi-Fi damages the semen, the scientists suggested.
