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A new study shows that men who keep their cell-phones in their pocket while talking when using a hands-free headset are at higher risk for male infertility, and possibly testicular cancer. 

Web MD reports that men who use these hands-free devices tend to carry their cell phones in their pants pocket or clipped to their belts at the waist while in talk mode. As a result, they may be exposing their testicles to damaging radio frequency electromagnetic waves, explains Ashok Agarwal, PhD, head of the andrology laboratory and the director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Glickman Urologoical and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

The Bluetooth devices, which many people are using these days because of health or safety concerns, may not be always so safe. There is a downside," he says.

To arrive at their findings, researchers collected semen samples from 32 men and divided each man's sample into two parts. They placed half of the semen samples 2.5 centimeters away from a 850 MHz frequency cell phone in talk mode for one hour. Most cell phones used in the U.S. are 850-900 MHz. They chose this distance because it is the typical distance between the testes and the trouser pockets.

In further news, the debate about cell-phones and brain cancer continues.  CNN reports that Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a warning in a memo to 3,000 faculty and staff,  urging people to spend less time talking on their cell-phones.  CNN states that “Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data.  He says it takes too long to get answers from science, and he believes that people should take action now, especially when it comes to children."

The FDA still states that cell-phones are safe and multiple studies offer inconclusive results. Remember when smoking was considered just fine for your health too? If you'd prefer not to be one of millions of guinea pigs, keep the phone away from your body when talking, even when using a Bluetooth device.  Children - including young teens - should only use a cell-phone in the case of an emergency as their brains are still developing.

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