RESEARCHERS BEHIND A NEW STUDY published yesterday by the journal Fertility and Sterility claim that using a computer on your lap raises the causes men’s testicles to overheat.

The study involved recording the temperature of the scrotums of 29 men who were using a laptop balanced on their knees, according to Reuters.

The lead researcher, urologist Dr Yefim Sheynkin, said: “Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don’t feel it”.

Sheynkin, who is based at the State University of New York, says millions of men in the “reproductive age range” are now using laptops. While no research has focused on the impact of laptop use on male fertility, previous research suggests that increasing scrotum temperature above one degree Celsius can damage sperm.

Sheynkin said that while tight clothing was not considered a factor in reducing male fertility “because you are moving around”, frequent use of a laptop might cause problems because “the scrotum doesn’t have time to cool down”.

After one hour of laptop use, the scrotum temperature of the test subjects had risen by 2.5 degrees Celsius, the Herald Sun reports. Sheynkin cautioned that this was not evidence that laptops affect male fertility.