Why male fertility could be in decline
by ROSALIND RYAN, femail.co.uk

Numerous studies have found that, on average, male sperm counts around the world have more than halved in the past 50 years and are still falling at a rate of two per cent every year.

Reasons for this decline range from our increasingly stressful lifestyles, poor diet and environmental factors.
Now a new study by America's University of California has also found that men's fertility declines as they age.

Here, femail.co.uk has investigated some of the reasons for declining male fertility. And follow the link at the bottom of the page for six tips on boosting male fertility.

High lead levels
A new report released this week found conclusive evidence that lead is linked to male infertility. Experts from America's Fertility Research Laboratories in New York discovered that exposure to lead damages the way sperm functions.

Researchers measured metal levels and sperm function in men whose partners where going through their first cycle of IVF treatment. They found there was a 'significant association' between high lead levels and low fertilisation rates.

The effect of lead on sperm is so great, that Dr Susan Benoff, who lead the research, says doctors should routinely measure lead levels in sperm samples when they are investigating causes of male infertility.

Because of the clear link between lead and low sperm function, researchers involved in the study are now calling for safety authorities to review the limits set for environmental exposure to lead.

However, none of the men involved in the study, reported in the journal Human Reproduction, had such high levels of lead that they were at risk of lead poisoning.

It is believed that the lead found in the samples was associated with drinking and smoking, or a lack of exercise - according to health experts, lead can build up in the body if no exercise is carried out. Researchers found that a diet high in animal fats can also encourage lead accumulation in the body.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-158463/Why-male-fertility-decline.html#ixzz1Cs5FyUul

FROM NATURAL NEWS

Radiation scientists agree TSA naked body scanners could cause breast cancer and sperm mutations

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/030607_naked_body_scanners_radiation.html#ixzz1CdV1OPnD

(NaturalNews) The news about the potential health dangers of the TSA's naked body scanners just keeps getting worse. An increasing number of doctors and scientists are going public with their warnings about the health implications of subjecting yourself to naked body scanners. These include Dr Russell Blaylock (see below) as well as several professors from the University of California who are experts in X-ray imaging.

At the same time, some internet bloggers are insisting that the TSA's naked body scanners pose no health risks because air travelers are subjected to higher levels of radiation by simply enduring high-altitude flights where cosmic radiation isn't filtered out by the full thickness of the Earth's atmosphere. This comparison, however, is inaccurate: The TSA's body scanners focus radiation on the skin and organs near the skin whereas cosmic radiation during high-altitude flights is distributed across the entire mass of your body.

Comparing the total radiation exposure across your entire body to machine-emitted radiation exposure that focuses its ionizing radiation primarily on your skin is like comparing apples and oranges. You'll see this explained further, below, in the words of these scientists.

As Dr Russell Blaylock (www.BlaylockReport.com) recently reported:

The growing outrage over the Transportation Security Administration's new policy of backscatter scanning of airline passengers and enhanced pat-downs brings to mind these wise words from President Ronald Reagan: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. So, what is all the concern really about - will these radiation scanners increase your risk of cancer or other diseases? A group of scientists and professors from the University of California at San Francisco voiced their concern to Obama's science and technology adviser John Holdren in a well-stated letter back in April.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030607_naked_body_scanners_radiation.html#ixzz1CdUrzgGM

FROM PHYSORG/ AP

US teen birth rate at all-time low, economy cited
December 21, 2010 By MIKE STOBBE , AP Medical Writer
(AP) -- The U.S. teen birth rate hit an all-time low in 2009 - a decline that stunned experts say is partly because of the economy.

The birth rate for teenagers fell to 39 births per 1,000 girls, ages 15 through 19, according to a government report released Tuesday. It was a 6 percent decline from the previous year, and the lowest rate since health officials started tracking that data in 1940.

Experts say the recent recession - from December 2007 to June 2009 - was a major factor driving down births overall, and experts say there's good reason to think it affect would-be teen mothers.
"I'm not suggesting that teens are examining futures of 401ks or how the market is doing," said Sarah Brown, chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
"But I think they are living in families that experience that stress. They are living next door to families that lost their jobs... The recession has touched us all," said Brown.
Teenage moms, who account for about 10 percent of the nation's births, are not unique. The total number of births also has been dropping, as have birth rates among all women except those 40 and older.

For comparison look to the peak year of teen births - 1957. There were about 96 births per 1,000 teen girls that year, but it was a different era, when women married younger, said Stephanie Ventura, a co-author of the report issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC births report is based on a review of most birth certificates for 2009.
Overall, about 4.1 million babies were born in 2009, down almost 3 percent from 2008. It's the second consecutive annual decline in births, after births had been increasing since 2000.
The trend may continue: A preliminary count of U.S. births through the first six months of this year suggests a continuing drop, CDC officials said.

A decline in immigration to the United States is another factor experts cite for the lower birth rate.

READ MORE

FROM CBC

Laptops can toast skin, researchers warn
Last Updated: Monday, October 4, 2010 | 1:13 PM ET

Working with a laptop on your lap could lead to "toasted skin syndrome," say Swiss researchers who recommend placing a heat shield under such computers.

The condition is characterized by discoloured sponge-patterned skin caused by long-term heat exposure, according to medical reports.

Researchers at University Hospital Basel in Switzerland chronicle the case of a 12-year-old boy in a study released Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics.

The youngest of 10 patients reported with the condition in medical journals since its first description in 2004, the boy had mottled skin on his left thigh after playing computer games a few hours every day for several months.

"He recognized that the laptop got hot on the left side. However, regardless of that, he did not change its position," the researchers wrote.

Swiss researchers say using your laptop on your lap could lead to 'toasted skin syndrome.' They recommend using a heat barrier. (CBC) Another case involved a Virginia law student who sought treatment for the mottled discolouration on her leg.

Dr. Kimberley Salkey, who treated the young woman, was stumped until she learned the student spent about six hours a day working with her computer propped on her lap. The temperature underneath registered 52 C.

The condition — which can also be caused by the long-term use of heating pads — is usually harmless but it can



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/10/04/science-laptop-toasted-skin-syndrome.html#ixzz11Px4Ibf4