Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: thedoc on 28/02/2012 15:43:46
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Will having my mobile phone in my trouser pocket affect my sperm count?”
Asked by Paul Herrington, Facebook
Visit the webpage for the podcast in which this question is answered. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/show/20120226/)
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We answered this question on the show...
Chris - [Researchers have done] studies on laptops. They did a study looking at men’s sperm counts and trouser temperatures and found that if you put your laptop on your lap, as nature intended you to use it, or at least the manufacturers intended you to use it, the elevation in temperature in the trouser area is of the order of several degrees. This was sufficient to cause a decrement in sperm count because sperm gets made most optimally at a lower temperature, maybe 1 degree lower than other areas.
So, mobile phones do cause a heating effect because of the microwaves don’t they?
Dave - But probably much less than a laptop. Probably least a 10th as much, so I’d thought you'd have difficulty heating that particular region from your side pocket unless you have a very strange pocket.
Chris - And also, the intensity must be lower. The actual heating intensity of the microwaves coming out probably wouldn’t be enough to put the temperature up.
Dave - The microwaves, even when it’s running and you're actually talking on the phone, are only a couple of watts whereas a laptop, just the heat which is coming straight out could be up to 100 watts which is far, far larger.