ABC Science Online
Thursday, 9 December 2004
Heat generated from a laptop warms the scrotum and may affect sperm.
The increasing use of laptop computers could produce a generation of men with fertility problems, a new study suggests.
The study by U.S. researchers in the journal Human Reproduction found laptops increased the temperature of the scrotum by almost 3°C.
Lead author Associate Professor Yefim Sheynkin of the State University of New York said repeated, long-term exposure to laptop-related scrotal hyperthermia, or over-heating, was a feature of modern life that may impair sperm production, particularly in teenage boys and young men.
Researchers have blamed heat exposure, through prolonged driving, sedentary work and even plastic nappies, in what many say is a worldwide decline in sperm production.
The latest study says laptops can reach internal operating temperatures of more than 70°C.
"Frequent use of laptop computers in a laptop position directly exposes the scrotum to the dissipated high internal operating temperature of the machine," the authors said.
"In addition, the use of a laptop requires a special body position ... when the scrotum is trapped between closely approximated thighs."
A case of a man who burnt his penis and scrotum after using a laptop was reported in the Lancet journal in 2002.



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