Cell Phones Linked to Sluggish Sperm

Small study sees effect from leaving device in pocket on talk mode

By Sarah Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 19, 2008 2:35 PM CDT

(Newser) – Would-be dads should think twice about keeping cell phones in pants pockets while using wireless headsets, CNN reports, with a small study suggesting that active phones can decrease sperm motility and viability. Semen samples exposed to a cell phone in talk mode contained higher levels of free radicals, which "have been linked to a variety of diseases in humans including cancer," a researcher said.

However, the study's leader acknowledges its limitations. The sample size was small, and sperm could act differently in a lab than in the human body, he said, stressing that more research is needed. Predictably, the cell-phone industry didn't take the news too seriously. Evidence "shows that there is no link between wireless usage and adverse health effects," a spokesman said.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

A man makes a cell phone call while crossing the street yesterday in New York; putting that phone in his pocket while he talks via headset could harm his sperm, a study finds. (AP Photo)

Keeping a cell phone on talk mode in a pants pocket can decrease a man's sperm quality, a new study suggests. (AP Photo/Lilli Strauss)

A cell phone will likely remain in its user's pocket on talk mode while the user chats via headset, researchers studying the phones' effects on sperm reasoned. (KRT Photos)

A Bluetooth earpiece by BlueAnt is photographed in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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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 to the gonads.
- Ashok Agarwal, director,
Center for Reproductive Medicine

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Cell Phones Linked to Sluggish Sperm