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Researchers at a New York university believe theyve found evidence that laptop use of notebook computers by men can impair fertility.
Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook showed that prolonged laptop use heated mens testicles on the order of 5 degrees Fahrenheit, within the 1.8 degree to 5.2 degree range found to impair the production of male sperm.
The test sample was relatively small—29 people, according to reports—and the test subjects used an undisclosed Pentium 4-based laptop for an entire hour.
“We havent yet seen the study, so we cant comment,” a spokeswoman for Intel Corp., based in Santa Clara, Calif., said in an instant message to ExtremeTech.
Still, the researchers now advise young men to avoid prolonged laptop use until future studies are performed. Using a laptop on a desk or on the lap with some form of thermal protection is advised.
Results will be published in the February 2005 issue of the European journal Human Reproduction.