Men who worked by balancing a laptop computer on their laps faced the risk of reproductive failure caused by increase in heat of scrotum.

It is known that tight-fitting jeans and brief-style underwear are now safe from causing risk of low sperm counts. But, do laptops placed for long on lap degenerate scrotum of human males? Answer is yes. Recent findings on health associated risks of using laptops warn against their use and are encouraging iPads instead.

In this novel study, a thermometer was attached to scrotum of 29 men who also had a laptop on a padded base placed on their knees. Within a short time, overheating of their testicles was observed. Overheating was not detected by the study subjects. Scientists noted that the temperatures of testicles rose by 2.5 degree Celsius.

Reuters covered this story published in journal Fertility and Sterility. "Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don't feel it," said Dr. Yefim Sheynkin, chief investigator of this study. Dr. Sheynkin is an urologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

"I wouldn't say that if someone starts to use laptops they will become infertile," Sheynkin. He cautions against frequent use of laptops because scrotal cells are not given adequate time to restore its normal metabolic temperature. Frequent use of laptops could cause problems as "the scrotum doesn't have time to cool down."

Although these tests do not prove beyond doubt that laptop use hampers male fertility it is a well-established fact that heating scrotum damages the sperm. In this study, Laptops have been found to heat scrotum to unsafe temperatures. In addition, if this research is confirmed, laptops would become one more lifestyle factor to be monitored by me for their reproductive safety.