A worrying new study has warned that men should probably stop carrying their phones around in their pockets.
A number of research papers on mobile phone related radiation have shown that keeping your it close to your genitals for prolonged periods of time seriously decreases sperm count, reports the Daily Mail.
And that’s not all, the studies also suggest that any surviving sperm could be severely damaged.
A new review by a team at Australia’s University of Newcastle has analysed years of evidence in an attempt to emphasise the trend, and identify potential causes.
The authors wrote:
While this subject remains a topic of active debate, this review has considered the growing body of evidence suggesting a possible role for RF-EMR [radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation] induced damage of the male germ line.
Basically, they found that exposure to mobile phones was associated with an eight per cent reduction in sperm motility and nine per cent reduction in sperm viability.
According to the Mail, around 14 per cent of the world struggle to conceive – with male infertility involved roughly 40 per cent of the time.
Therefore, a detail such as where a man stores his phone could be crucial in whether he can conceive or not.
Dr Joel Moskowitz, of UC Berkeley’s public health school, said that this review is a an important step in widening understanding about the dangers of mobile phones.
He warned:
[The University of Newcastle] review is clear evidence that men should not store their cellphones near their genitals.
In this line of research more intense cellphone radiation leads to more sperm damage.
I’ll be finding somewhere else to keep my phone I think…
