無線網絡輻射或降低男性精子活力

Working on a laptop wirelessly may hamper a man’s chances of fatherhood。

In a study, sperm placed under a laptop connected to the internet through wi-fi suffered more damage than that kept at the same temperature but away from the wireless signal。

The finding is important because previous worries about laptops causing infertility have focused on the heat generated by the machines。

In the latest study, researchers took sperm from 29 men aged 26 to 45 and placed them either under a wi-fi connected laptop or away from the computer。

The laptop then uploaded and downloaded information from the internet for four hours。

At the end of the experiment, 25 percent of the sperm under the laptop had stopped moving and 9 percent showed DNA damage。

By comparison, just 14 percent of samples kept away from the wi-fi stopped moving. And just 3 percent suffered DNA damage, the journal Fertility and Sterility reports。

The wireless connection creates electromagnetic radiation that damages semen, the scientists, from the United States and Argentina, believe。

Lead researcher Conrado Avendano, of Nascentis Medicina Reproductiva in Cordoba, said: ‘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。

‘At present we do not know whether this effect is induced by all laptop computers connected by WiFi to the internet or what use conditions heighten this effect.’

A separate test with a laptop that was on, but not wirelessly connected, found negligible EM radiation from the machine alone。

According to the American Urological Association, nearly one in six couples in the US have trouble conceiving a baby, and about half the time the man is at the root of the problem。

While the impact of modern technology is still murky, lifestyle does matter, researchers say。

Earlier this month, a report in Fertility And Sterility showed that men who eat a diet rich in fruit and grains and low in red meat, alcohol and coffee have a better shot at getting their partner pregnant during fertility treatment。使用接入無線網絡的筆記本電腦可能會造成男性不育。

在一項研究中，放置在開通無線網絡的筆記本下面的精子比放在同一溫度下但遠離無線信號處的精子受損程度更深。

這項發現很重要，因爲之前關於筆記本電腦引起不育的矛頭都指向電腦產生的熱量。

在這項最新研究中，研究者收集了29名年齡在26到45歲之間的男子的精液，並將其分別放在連接無線網絡的筆記本電腦下面和遠離電腦的地方。

接着，筆記本電腦連續四個小時在網上上傳下載信息。

實驗結束時，放在筆記本電腦下面的精子中，有25%不再遊動，另有9%DNA受損。

而遠離電腦的精子中，只有14%不再遊動，並且僅有3%出現DNA損傷。這項研究報告發表在《生育與不育》期刊上。

來自美國和阿根廷的科學家認爲，無線網絡產生的電磁輻射會損害男性精子。

阿根廷科爾多瓦生殖醫學中心的負責人康拉多•埃芬達諾說：“我們的數據顯示，如果把聯通無線網絡的筆記本放在靠近男性生殖器的地方，會損害精子質量。”

“目前尚不清楚是否所有筆記本連接無線網絡時都會產生這種影響，也不清楚何種使用方法會加劇這種作用。”

在另一項實驗中，研究人員還測量了開啓、但沒有接通無線網絡的電腦輻射量，發現這時的電磁輻射幾乎可以忽略不計。

美國泌尿協會統計的數字顯示，有近1/6的美國夫婦不孕不育，其中一半的原因在男方。

研究人員稱儘管現代科技的影響還不清楚，但是生活方式至關重要。

本月早些時候，《生育與不育》的一項報告顯示，在生育治療中，多吃水果和穀物，少吃牛羊肉，少喝酒和咖啡的男性讓伴侶懷孕的機會更高。