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Please note that this is just a community service to seek the less use of mobile phone.

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Men who use mobile phones could be risking their fertility, warn researchers.

A new study shows a worrying link between poor sperm and the number of hours a day that a man uses his mobile phone.

Those who made calls on a mobile phone for more than four hours a day had the worst sperm counts and the poorest quality sperm, according to results released yest at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in New Orleans.

Doctors believe the damage could be caused by the electromagnetic radiation emitted by handsets or the heat they generate.

The findings suggest millions of men may encounter difficulties in fathering a child due to the widespread use of mobile phones and offers another possible explanation for plummeting fertility levels among British males.

Sperm counts among British men have fallen by 29 per cent over the past decade, a drop which has also been blamed on increasing obesity, smoking, stress, pollution and ‘gender-bending’ chemicals which disrupt the hormone system.

The latest study backs up previous research which indicated a link between mobile phone use and sperm quality, but it is the biggest and best designed to date.

US researchers in Cleveland and New Orleans, and doctors in Mumbai, India, looked at more than 360 men undergoing checks at a fertility clinic who were classified into three groups according to their sperm count.

Men who used a mobile for more than four hours a day had a 25 per cent lower sperm count than men who never used a mobile.

The men with highest usage also had greater problems with sperm quality, with the swimming ability of sperm – a crucial factor in conception – down by a third.

They had a 50 per cent drop in the number of properly formed sperm, with just one-fifth looking normal under a microscope.

Professor Ashok Agarwal, director of the Reproductive Research Centre at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, who led the study, said “Almost a billion people are using cell phones around the world and the number is growing in many countries at 20 to 30 per cent a year.

“In another five years the number is going to double. People use mobile phones without thinking twice what the consequences may be.

“It is just like using a toothbrush but mobiles could be having a devastating effect on fertility. It still has to be proved but it could have a huge impact because mobiles are so much part of our lives.”

Altogether 361 men in the study were divided into four groups, with 40 never using a mobile, 107 men using them for less than two hours a day, 100 men using them for two-four hours daily and 114 making calls for four or more hours a day.

The main finding was that on four measures of sperm potency – count, motility, viability and morphology, or appearance – there were significant differences between the groups.

The greater the use of mobile phones, the greater the reduction in each measure. Prof Agarwal said “This was very clear and very significant. Many in the lowest group for sperm count would be below normal as defined by the World Health Organisation.”

The WHO says a normal sperm count is above 20 million per millilitre of seminal fluid. “There was a significant decrease in the most important measures of sperm health with cell phone use and that should definitely be reflected in a decrease in fertility” he said.

Motility measures the swimming ability of sperm, viability measures whether non-swimming sperm are still alive while morphology is the appearance compared to the norm.

Although the men were seeking fertility treatment at a clinic in Mumbai, not all would have had a problem – it could be their partners, he added.

Prof Agarwal said the most likely mechanism was damage to sperm-making cells in the testes caused by electromagnetic radiation or heat, although a fall in hormone production could also affect sperm motility and sperm DNA.

He said: “These cells in the testes have been shown to be susceptible to electromagnetic waves in previous research in animals.

“Somehow electromagnetic waves may be causing direct damage to these cells and that perhaps causes a decrease in sperm production.”

Mobiles may also increase temperature in the groin, if a man was wearing it on a belt or carrying it around in a pocket.

Prof Agarwal said it was too early to advise men trying to start a family about whether they should limit their mobile phone use. He said “We still have a long way to go to prove this but we have just had another study approved.”

More than 40 million people in Britain are thought to use mobile phones. Alasdair Philips, director of the consumer pressure group Powerwatch said “It’s a plausible link between the amount of time spent using a mobile phone and a possible effect on male fertility.

“The eyes, breasts and testicles are the areas of the body most likely to absorb the energy and many men carry their mobiles attached to their belt.”

Sending text messages uses less power than talking but it can be a more intense emission of radiation, especially on trains, he said.

“I’ve seen men on trains spending two or three hours continually texting with their mobile phones held in their laps, and they press Send in the same position when it starts to seek a signal.

“This needs a considerable amount of power within what is effectively a metal box. We advise people to send a text with their arm outstretched next to the window when travelling on a train” he added.

He said local heating of the groin triggered by a mobile phone might also be involved in affecting sperm quality.

“Sperm is very temperature sensitive as shown by many studies, and a short-term rise in temperature could be responsible” he added.

However, Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said “This is a good quality study but I don’t think it tackles the issue.

“If you’re using your phone for four hours a day, presumably it is out of your pocket for longer. That raises a big question: how is it that testicular damage is supposed to occur?”

He said mobile phone use may be a marker for other lifestyle factors known to affect sperm quality.

“Maybe people who use a phone for four hours a day spend more time sitting in cars, which could mean there’s a heat issue. It could be they are more stressed, or more sedentary and sit about eating junk food getting fat. Those seem to be better explanations than a phone causing the damage at such a great distance” he added.

So, where should we keep our mobile phone?

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After my return from Kota Tinggi last week, I had a conversation with a couple of friends. Basically this conversation kind of enlightened me in the sense there are certain people are plain critics.

He keep saying that there are people who never change. Remains the same despite of these few years. I feel offended by his cynical statement and especially when he think he changed the most. Oh hell ya, changed to be better or worse? If they going to change to be the worse, I rather they stay the same. Unless they are changing for the better. Nonetheless, why keep talking about people in such a way when you never try to help them anyway. Why can’t we just walk the talk we talk about? It’s easy when we just talk. How about doing it? Paying such lip service.

Definitely, the boost of ego in a person. What if being a lawyer, architect or pilot to you? Are you living in humility? One thing that I couldn’t get off my chest is that when he promised me that he will be there at 8.30pm, then do your best to be there. A lot of calls ensued but you ain’t picking up and claims the fault of the telco?

Furthermore, he is just a 6 houses away. Can’t you drag yourself to there just to inform that you’ll be late? You can be whatever kind of profession you want and in the end, it doesn’t even matter. Making 5 figure or 6 figure income doesn’t mean you accumulate the required wealth. Wealth can be in many forms. So, it’s up to your decision.

There’s sayings say that friend should bear his infirmities. I get him and just felt like ranting, that’s all.

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I always wanted to post about my wedding but bleargh, I’m still single and not yet married. So there’s no point also to write about it. Unless I am trying to satisfy my ego.

Further to my previous post, I had been thinking about my wedding. I mean if I am going to host a wedding dinner, there’ll be huge list of attendees or people to invite. Starts from my father side of the family, my mother side times 2, my primary schoolmates, secondary schoolmates, collegemates, coursemates, colleagues from company 1, colleagues from company 2 and colleagues from company 3. However, if I narrow down to prioritize the list, it’s not that much after all.

Actually, what makes it so important to have a grand wedding dinner with a lots of people. It’s all about ego. This is what happened to my nephew wedding. A typical chinese wedding dinner. Since my nephew is the eldest grandson in the family, my eldest sister-in-law invites quite a number of relatives from my father side. However, the turn up was pretty disappointing since she invite them via phone calls. A short discussion with the elders say that it’s not

Argh. I can’t focus these days… Give me some time. Lost my mood adi.

Few weeks ago, I took annual leave to attend my nephew wedding up north. Prior to the wedding, there were plenty of issue arise. The conflict and arguement between relatives. Likewise, when there is human, then there surely will have some conflict or disagreement. It’s just how we are going to minimize and handle such matter.

To cut things short, I know that if it comes to my wedding, I have to personally invite the seniors, elders and all my relatives either from my mother side as well as my father side. Having to physically go there, drop the wedding card and seek their confirmation to attend the wedding dinner. As the Chinese customs to have a lot of relatives and friends to the wedding dinner. The more the merrier. Else, it shows that this person or even the family lack of respect from many. The ideal condition is to have the entire venue filled up. Packed. Full of cheers and laughter. The noise and the chaotic atmosphere.

Ehm… maybe do an underground wedding is good enough. No need to do grand one hor. What do you think?

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