Oh No! Cell Phones Affect Sperm Quality, Researchers Say

The Cleveland Clinic has bad news for amorous males who tote their cell phones in their pants pocket. According to the Clinic's research, mobile phones left on talk mode can reduce the quality of sperm.

"We believe that these devices are used because we consider them very safe, but it could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the phones and the exposure that they are causing ot the gonads," says lead researcher Ashok Agarwal.

Agarwal and his team studied semen samples from 32 men with each person's sperm placed in small conical tubes, and them separated then into two groups. One group was kept clear of any cell phone emissions, while the other group sat 2.5 centimeters away from an 850MHz cell phone in talk mode, The researchers did this to simulate active cell phones kept in pants pockets while talking on headsets.

"On average, there was an 85 percent increase in the amount of free radicals for all the subjects in the study," noted Agarwal. "Free radicals have been linked to a variety of diseases in humans including cancer."

But don't panic just yet. By Agarwal's own admission, the small sample size can't be viewed as conclusive, nor does it take into account layers of skin, bone, and tissue that might protect precious sperm.

Even still, how long do you give cell phone manufacturers until they start marketing new models as being semen safe? 

Image Credit: Flickr JonJon2k8