Читать книгу Hatches, Matches and Despatches - Jenny Paschall - Страница 6

IF the number of humans on planet Earth were to continue to increase at the current rate, by the year 3530 the total weight of all the living human bodies would equal the mass of the earth itself. Given the same rate of population expansion, by the year 6826, the total mass of humanity would equal the size of the entire known universe.

ON the other hand, Danish researchers have found that men’s average sperm count has almost halved over the past fifty years, and that semen quantity has decreased by almost twenty-five per cent. Similar results are being found in tests being conducted in other parts of the world. So far, no one has been able to identify the cause. Scientists are concerned that if this trend continues, it could lead ultimately to a sterile population.

PERHAPS man’s diminishing fertility is caused by his first love, the car.

Driving for more than three hours a day can reduce a man’s fertility. Scientists have discovered that driving a car and sitting in traffic jams, especially whilst wearing tight-fitting clothes and underpants, causes overheating of the testes, which reduces the output of sperm.

HOWEVER, it seems that if a good part of a man’s day is spent overheating his testes, he may be able to counteract the problem by drinking plenty of coffee. According to doctors at New York University Medical School, the caffeine in coffee prolongs the life span of male sperm and keeps them moving.