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[More from Mashable: Personal Computers: A History of the Hardware That Changed the World]
Men beware. The Wi-Fi from your laptop could be hurting the health of your sperm.
A new study, published in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility by researchers from Argentina and the U.S., found that semen samples placed a little more than an inch under a Wi-Fi-connected laptop experienced more DNA damage and mobility issues than regular sperm. The samples were taken from 29 healthy men with an average age of 34.
[More from Mashable: Wi-Fi Day Is Here: What?s the Best Network Name You?ve Encountered?]
After just four hours sitting under a Wi-Fi-connected laptop, 25% of the sperm samples were no longer mobile and nine percent showed DNA damage. Meanwhile, only 14% of the samples stored away from the computer were inactive, and they showed minimal DNA damage.
"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," the report said. "At present we do not know whether this effect is induced by all laptop computers connected by Wi-Fi to the Internet, or what use conditions heighten this effect."
The study also tested the sperm next to laptops that were not connected to Wi-Fi. They showed some damage -- though less than the connected laptops. This suggests heat may also be a factor in impacting the health of your swimmers.
This is not the first time a study revealed that laptops might be harmful to sperm. A widely-reported 2010 study found that men who keep their laptops on their laps may be hurting the quality of their sperm due to scrotal hyperthermia -- that is, elevated temperatures in the testes.
The latest study noted that more research needs to be conducted to learn the true effects of electromagnetic radiation generated by a laptop's Wi-Fi connection -- since it was conducted in an artificial setting.
Male infertility is not uncommon. In fact, about one in six U.S. couples have difficulty conceiving. According to the American Urological Association, a man's fertility is a factor in 50 percent of these cases.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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