Alert: what our sperm tell us about the future of the human race

Something alarming is happening between our legs.

The the number of sperm has decreased; children develop no more genital abnormalities; more girls have early puberty; and adult women seem to suffer from decrease in the quality of your eggs and more abortions.

And that doesn’t just happen among humans. Scientists report that there are genetic abnormalities in a variety of species, like unusually small penises in crocodiles, otters Yes visones. In some areas, a considerable number of fish, frogs and turtles have been observed with female and male sexual organs.

Four years ago, a leading specialist in reproductive health, Shanna H. Swan, calculated that, from 1973 to 2011, the sperm count in the average western man had dropped by 59%. It was inevitable that headlines would emerge on the “Spermageddon“And the risk of humans disappearing, but then other luminous objects distracted our attention.

Now swan, public health researcher at Mount Sinai Medical Center in new York, wrote a book, “CountdownWhich will be on sale from Tuesday and which is sounding an alarm signal. The caption is powerful: “How our modern world affects sperm count, impairs the reproductive development of men and women, and endangers the future of the human race“.

swan and other experts say the problem is a class of chemicals called endocrine changers, which mimic the body’s hormones and therefore trick our cells. This is a serious problem for the fetus because sexual differentiation occurs at the start of the gestational period. The endocrine changers they can wreak havoc on reproduction.

These endocrine alterers they are everywhere: plastics, shampoos, cosmetics, pesticides, canned goods and receipts at ATMs. Many times they are not even listed on the labels and can be difficult to avoid.

“In a way, the drop in sperm count is similar to the state of global warming 40 years ago“, write swan. “The climate crisis has been accepted – at least by most people – as a real threat. My hope is the same will happen with this crisis looming over us“.

Chemical companies are as reckless as tobacco companies were a generation ago or as opioid companies ten years ago. They are pushing not to even perform safety tests on the endocrine changersSo we don’t really know if the products we use every day harm our body or our children. We are all guinea pigs.

In addition to the drop in sperm count, there are others that appear to be defective – there is an increase in double-headed sperm.– while others swim in circles instead of heading quickly in search of an egg. And boys who have been more exposed to a type of endocrine disruptor called phthalates have smaller penises., he found swan.

Many doubts remain, research is sometimes contradictory and the biological pathways are not always obvious. There are divergent theories as to whether the drop in sperm count is real and what could be causing it, and why girls seem to be reaching puberty earlier, and sometimes it is not clear whether the increase in genital abnormalities in men reflects a real increase or simply greater availability of data.

Either way, the Endocrine society, the Pediatric Endocrinology Society, the Presidential Panel on Cancer, and the World Health Organization warned against endocrine changers, Y Europe Yes Canada they started to regulate them. But United States, the Congress and the government of Asset they apparently listened more to industry lobbyists than to independent scientists.

Patricia ann hunt, geneticist of the Washington State University, conducted experiments on mice which show that the impact of endocrine changers it is cumulative, from generation to generation. When lactating mice have been exposed for a few days to chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system, your adult testicles produced less sperm, and this handicap was passed on to their offspring. Although the results of animal studies are not necessarily applicable to humans, after three generations of exposure to these substances, one-fifth of male mice were sterile.

“This I find particularly worrying“, he told me Hunt. “From the point of view of exposures in humans, you could say that we are now more or less in the third generation.“.

What does this mean for the future of humanity?

“I don’t see humans going extinct, but I do see family lines ending for a subset of infertile people.“, he told me Andrea Gore, professor of neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas, Campus Austin. “People with impaired sperm count or egg quality cannot exercise their right to decide to have a child. It may not destroy our species, but it is certainly devastating for these infertile couples.“.

More research is needed, and government regulation and corporate responsibility are key to controlling risk, But swan offers practical suggestions for the daily life of those who have the possibilities. Store food in glass, not plastic, containers. Importantly, when reheating food in the microwave, do not put it in plastic or cover it with this material.. Avoid pesticides. If you can buy organic food. Avoid it the tobacco where the marijuana. Use a cotton or linen shower curtain, not vinyl. Do not use flavors. Prevent dust from building up in your home. Review the consumer products you use with an online guide like the one at Environmental working group (EWG, for its acronym in English).

Many of the issues that make headlines today will not matter much in a decade, let alone a century. Climate change is one exception, and another may be the risks to our ability to reproduce.

The “low kick” paradigm is a kick to the crotch. And that, my friends, may be what we do as a species.

(C) The New York Times.

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