Human race faces extinction if male sperm count continues to fall worldwide
Because of the source I put this in the Pub, but I have seen similar (perhaps less dire) predictions elsewhere such as RealClearScience.
Male fertility is falling every year in the Western world — and experts blame chemicals and modern lifestyles.
A study of 124,000 men visiting fertility clinics in Europe and the USA found sperm quality reducing by almost 2% per year.
Separate research focusing on 2,600 sperm donors [men with above-normal fertility] showed a similar pattern.
While most men can still father a child, scientists say the human race faces extinction if the trend continues.Pesticides, hormone-disrupting chemicals, stress, smoking and obesity are seen as causes, along with too much alcohol, caffeine and processed meat.
The chemicals include some used to make plastics flexible and furniture flame-retardant – which can enter the food chain via plants or animals.
Experts also blame increases in testicular cancer, the number of boys born with one or both testicles missing, and changing testosterone levels.
Scientists in Valencia, Spain,and New Jersey, USA, carried out the first large-scale study of “swimming” sperm, known as the total motile sperm count.