Sperm Down for the Count

That’s right. I’m bringing up sperm count in my blog (no pun intended). Bit risqué, I know, but somebody’s got to speak out on the alarming number of news items related to the matter. (Plus, it’s only fair that I focus on men after my last post.)

Round One: a new report that pollution may affect the sex of men’s sperm. Researchers in Sweden aren’t quite sure how, but men seemed to have more Y chromosomes (the kind that make little boys) than X with greater exposure to persistent organochlorine pollutants (ironically, the acronym is POPs).

Round Two: Perhaps scarier for men is the idea that their laptop might lower their count because of the heat it emits. May be a good idea to keep the computer on the desk, gentlemen.

Round Three: Cannabis is also shown to have a deleterious effect by making sperm less likely to reach the egg or to break the protective coating around the egg. Who would have thought pot would make you lethargic?

Knockout Punch?: But sperm is now more available digitally thanks to a fly-by-night Internet sperm supplier in Reading, PA. Despite a misleading Web address (spermdirect.co.uk) and a London street address, the Reading Chronicle has reported that the business is operated by a print repair engineer in the Keystone State.