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Medicine Science

Daily Sex Helps Improve Fertility 174

mmmscience writes "While fertility studies lately seem to have been exclusively focused on in vitro fertilization [IVF], new data coming out of Australia may help with unaided successful conceptions. The study has found that men who have ejaculate daily produce sperm with less damaged DNA. While such actions decrease sperm concentration, it does increase motility, meaning healthier sperm have a better chance of making it all the way to the egg. Good news, as another report has found severe chromosome abnormalities in over 90% of IVF eggs, meaning artificial insemination is just now discovering a whole new field of problems."
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Daily Sex Helps Improve Fertility

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  • by 0100010001010011 ( 652467 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:39PM (#28552811)

    Although if 'twice a day' helps, all of slashdot should have near perfect DNA.

    Now to just find someone to spread it to..

    • by langelgjm ( 860756 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:42PM (#28552845) Journal
      Right, because what this world needs is a bunch of Slashdotters reproducing :-P
    • by sys.stdout.write ( 1551563 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:51PM (#28552929)
      Wow, I guess every sprem is sacred, for its death helps others succeed.

      Catholicism could learn a lot from this study!
    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by wireloose ( 759042 )
      Well, we knew most of this same information in the 60's/70's. Not exactly news now, we knew that sperm "aged" and degraded.

      More work happened in the 90's. http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/8/8/1251 [oxfordjournals.org]

      Meanwhile, this article pretty well describes the reason that most slashdotters have (or will soon have) pattern baldness: http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Consequences_of_over_masturbation_a589_f0.html [steadyhealth.com]
    • >>Although if 'twice a day' helps, all of slashdot should have near perfect DNA.

      Yeah, the Mormons should start recruiting on Slashdot. We could breed like mofos for them if we could just get girls.
    • by niktemadur ( 793971 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:51AM (#28555439)

      Although if 'twice a day' helps, all of slashdot should have near perfect DNA.

      Now to just find someone to spread it to..

      That's one way of looking at it.

      Here's another, less obvious one, which I read in a Timothy Leary essay about fifteen years ago:
      The anatomy contains organs that serve to keep the individual alive, such as heart, lungs, liver, etc.
      The anatomy also contains organs that serve no purpose in keeping the individual alive, but are focused on the preservation of the species, such as ovaries, whose sole function is to produce the female egg, and the prostate, whose sole function is to secrete a lubricant which aids in ejaculation, a strange little organ.
      Statistically, it seems these organs are the ones that do us in first, by "virtue" of being the most vulnerable to cancer, the highest rates among females being of the ovarian and breast variety, while the highest among males of the prostate variety.

      Could it be that as we gradually cease to use our procreative organs, as we are no longer useful to the natural order of things, nature itself has a mechanism to push us aside?

      And so, in inimitable style, Mr Leary, who was dying of prostate cancer then, concluded his musings with the following empirical conclusion and advice for us all: "Use it or lose it!"

      As an amusing afterthought, when I mentioned this article to friends, some of them said "So that means I should fuck every day?", while others said "So that means it's okay if I jack off every day?" Caught them with their guard down, spilled the beans all by themselves.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Bigbutt ( 65939 )

        This is something I believe in as well. A well used prostate, either sex or wanking, keeps the sperm on the move. When they hang about, they degrade and degenerate potentially causing damage to the prostate and opening yourself up to cancer.

        At 52 when lots of folk are complaining about slow stream and poor PSAs, I'm not having any of those problems.

        [John]

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by jahudabudy ( 714731 )
        As an amusing afterthought, when I mentioned this article to friends, some of them said "So that means I should fuck every day?", while others said "So that means it's okay if I jack off every day?" Caught them with their guard down, spilled the beans all by themselves.

        Only the second group...
    • No, that helps keeping the prostate clean. I had prostate problems
      about six month ago and my doctor suggested ejaculation as a cure:
      sex (yes, I have a wife) or masturbation. The alternative was to
      eat alfa-blockers (Tamsulosin) which reduce blood pressure but in
      my case BP was getting way too low and causing a lot of problems.

      So a lot of ejaculations will keep your prostate in good shape.

  • Good news (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Starlon ( 1492461 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:39PM (#28552815)
    For the porn industry.
  • Summary misleading (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Macgrrl ( 762836 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:40PM (#28552823)

    While the news services have all been reporting that Daily Sex will improve fertility - surely a more accurate description would be that daily ejaculation (via whatever means) improves fertility.

    • by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:52PM (#28552933) Journal
      Yes, but the headline "Daily Ejaculation Helps Improve Fertility" would not help convince my wife to have sex with me. It would instead encourage her to send me to the bathroom with the SI Swimsuit issue.

      That is no good.

      I would prefer the headline to stay as it is, or perhaps to be changed to "Daily Receipt of Fellatio Helps Improve Fertility".

      But I think that might be too much to ask for.
      • by tomhudson ( 43916 ) <barbara.hudson@b ... m ['son' in gap]> on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:01PM (#28553007) Journal

        I would prefer the headline to stay as it is, or perhaps to be changed to "Daily Receipt of Fellatio Helps Improve Fertility".

        News: BILL CLINTON POSTS ON SLASHDOT!

        Speaking of receipts - wouldt paying for getting a "Monica" now be tax-deductible as preventative medicine or something?

        • News: BILL CLINTON POSTS ON SLASHDOT!

          [WJC voice] Ah feel your... tongue [/WJC voice]

          Something tells me that Hillary would NOT have wanted Bill to be fertile when they were in the White House... I don't think raising another crotch potato would have fit in with her career plans.

      • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

        "I would prefer the headline to stay as it is, or perhaps to be changed to 'Daily Receipt of Fellatio Helps Improve Fertility'"

        Well, if the mechanism they propose is right then it's literally true. You could set up an experiment to prove it.

      • Since the theory is that stale sperm go bad, you might not get to (er, need to) "refresh" every day - only the day before you need some high quality stuff. (If so, the rationale for daily action is undermined.) That is my theory. Please cite me in your next study, thx.
      • by PPH ( 736903 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:58PM (#28553389)
        When I sent my wife this article, she suggested we try "annual sex". Sounds pretty kinky to me. But first, I'm going to have to help her with her spelling.
      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by midmopub ( 922286 )
        actually... Fellatio does help. http://www.momlogic.com/2009/06/is_oral_sex_good_for_your_fetu.php [momlogic.com]
      • by Macgrrl ( 762836 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @11:22PM (#28553559)

        I would prefer the headline to stay as it is, or perhaps to be changed to "Daily Receipt of Fellatio Helps Improve Fertility".

        Shush - you're getting my husband all excited with the concept.

      • by Krneki ( 1192201 )
        Sex is a mind game, if your wife is not enough sexually active it's time to read some book and improve your sexual life.

        Sex is an integral part of a couple life. Don't listen to the church too much, it won't do you any good.
        • by d3ac0n ( 715594 )

          Sex is an integral part of a couple life. Don't listen to the church too much, it won't do you any good.

          Which Church? I know plenty of churches that actually offer sex courses for married couples to help them spice up their love life.

          Heck, there are even Christian sex shops on the Intertubes, so I REALLY don't know what you are on about. Christians LOVE sex.

          • by Krneki ( 1192201 )
            This is new, I guess the church changes when it has to.
            • by d3ac0n ( 715594 )

              While the sex shops and the classes are new-ish, the attitude isn't.

              At least within the bounds of marriage, most Churches preach the motto of "Often, and with much Gusto" when it comes to sex.

              Now, most Churches do tend to say "ONLY within the marriage of a man and a woman, and ONLY involving them, no third parties or critters allowed." when speaking of sex.

              Also, I know the Catholic church (at least traditionally) is none too keen on masturbation, but I think they are the only ones.

              Apparently the "qualifica

      • by pbhj ( 607776 )

        I would prefer the headline to stay as it is, or perhaps to be changed to "Daily Receipt of Fellatio Helps Improve Fertility".

        There is research that indicates fellatio can help to improve fertility. The analysis is something along these lines: female body can attack the sperm as it's recognised as being external matter; fellatio allows the body to recognise the sperm and adapt such that the immune response is reduced.

        No, I don't have a citation ...

      • I would prefer the headline to stay as it is, or perhaps to be changed to "Daily Receipt of Fellatio Helps Improve Fertility".

        Well, here you go:
        Oral sex makes pregnancies safer and more successful - study
        http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/infopg/mirrors/repro/sm_514317.html [cmu.edu]

    • So if I understand this article, your sig alone has already helped my fertility 3 times
    • by Hatta ( 162192 )

      Unfortunately there's a built in negative feedback loop. Improved fertility inhibits daily ejaculation.

  • by Luyseyal ( 3154 ) <swaters@NoSpAM.luy.info> on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:42PM (#28552841) Homepage

    Slashdotters would be lucky to get once a month, much less daily...

    -l

    • by HTH NE1 ( 675604 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:12PM (#28553103)

      Slashdotters would be lucky to get once a month, much less daily...

      Comic Book Guy: Inspired by the most logical race in the galaxy, the Vulcans, breeding will be permitted once every seven years. For many of you, this will be much less breeding. For me, much, much more.

  • by Gandalf_Greyhame ( 44144 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:42PM (#28552853) Journal

    Hmm... does that mean that if Senator Stephen Conroy's internet filter gets built, I can get a medical prescription to download porn?

  • for the first person who applies a "fap" tag!

  • Masturbation works too.

  • 90% ??? I call Bull. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MMC Monster ( 602931 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:48PM (#28552905)

    IVF has been around a few years. In fact, it's been around since 1978, if you want to take it back to the first test tube baby.

    I'm sure if there were "severe" chromosomal abnormalities we would have noticed by now.

    Now, I'm not saying that there isn't any increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities associated with the procedure. But 90% chance of severe chromosomal abnormalities doesn't sound like it makes sense to me.

    Are there are molecular geneticists in the house?

    • by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:58PM (#28552979) Journal

      I'm sure if there were "severe" chromosomal abnormalities we would have noticed by now.

      We have noticed. It is one of the reasons that multiple eggs are implanted, since so few of them are viable.

      This is related to why we have so many multiple births from IVF -- sometimes 2 or more of the implanted eggs are viable.

      Also note that IVF is done primarily when people have trouble conceiving normally, so incidence of abnormality should be high anyway... perhaps these abnormalities are part of the infertility issues that brought the patients to the fertility specialist in the first place.

      Someone I know very well has tried IVF twice... out of all the eggs that it was tried with (I think 6 or 8 each time), only one egg was viable... and that one miscarried during week 5.

      It's really not surprising to anyone who's been through it or has had frank discussions with someone who has.

    • I guessed, and confirmed upon reading, that the linked article is referring to the fact that human embryos naturally have a high rate of genetic abnormalities, and thus the fact that not every copulation during a woman's fertile period results in a pregnancy. The article explains that newer, more thorough screening mechanisms are flagging embryos that previously went undetected.
  • Whoo-hoo! (Score:5, Funny)

    by IonOtter ( 629215 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:51PM (#28552921) Homepage

    Well, if frequent masturbation prevents cancer [google.com], then baby, lemme tell ya? I could CURE cancer. And now this?

    I just might start selling it, now?

  • Fresher Sperm (Score:4, Insightful)

    by corsec67 ( 627446 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:59PM (#28552993) Homepage Journal

    It seems pretty simple to me: fresh sperm are better.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Well, at least they taste better...

    • by dzfoo ( 772245 )

      You mean, more taste, less filling?

                -dZ.

  • On autism! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by tjstork ( 137384 ) <todd.bandrowsky@ ... UGARom minus cat> on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:00PM (#28552999) Homepage Journal

    I have an autistic son and I think that "causes of autism" are something that is used far too often. My wife and I have thought about this and we see in our son's autism some of our own traits as its forbears. Rather than the litany of plastic bottles, vaccines, carbon monoxide, indoor air pollution and other bogus causes, we now wonder if autism is actually part of a natural evolutionary response to dealing with an increasingly complex human society.

    Perhaps we've evolved to deal with the fact that we are increasingly specialized, as our society feeds back into our own natural selection, and, we've reached a sort of a tipping point where autism is the next step.

    We've been very fortunate in that our son has responded extremely well to aggressive therapy, all, by the way, provided by the taxpayer... (makes this old Republican rethink some of his own values). And, we wonder if, perhaps, a different sort of society might emerge from autism, that, we see it as a disability because we value our own communication so much. Perhaps autism is something that will never be cured, but, people who are autistic can move onto lead intelligent and productive lives if only there is intervention and ever better education and socialization for them and in a way that makes sense, for them.

    Regardless of all of that though, I can say this. I'm proud of my son for who he is. When I first heard of his diagnosis, I almost felt like he had died and I was very angry about it. Sometimes, I admit, I still am. But, overall, if I could do it all over again, and make a choice about having an autistic child, I would gladly keep the son that I have.

    I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Renraku ( 518261 )
      So, the next step in evolution is to be inept-by-default at communication? One of the reasons we're so advanced? I agree that some social customs are way too complex, and that people need to be more forthcoming in general, but those are more personal flaws than flaws with society.
    • Re:On autism! (Score:5, Informative)

      by 93,000 ( 150453 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:56PM (#28553381)

      Not to be all Jenny Mcarthy on you, because I don't agree with her opinions on vaccinations, but many autistic kids benefit greatly from a gluten free diet. FWIW, I have no medical background other than that I happen to be celiac (which I know makes me inherently biased towards GF) and am a huge nerd who reads lots of boring research. Not implying that gluten is a 'cause', as you say, but just that the diet seems to work very well for many with autism. You've very likely heard of/explored that option, but thought I'd throw that out there just in case.

      I admire you very much for your honesty, particularly about your initial feelings about your situation. I'm very glad you are in a good place. I wish you and yours the best.

      • by IorDMUX ( 870522 )

        but many autistic kids benefit greatly from a gluten free diet.

        It... depends on your interpretation. There is just enough truth in that statement to make it thoroughly confusing.

        Psychological problems are diagnosed almost solely based upon symptoms (as you cannot test positive for the nonexistent a BPD bacteria or schizophrenia antibodies). As a result, a few select kids who actually have a digestive issue [preventing certain nutrients from being absorbed and presented to the brain], but no underlying brain architecture problems, are being diagnosed as "autistic".

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      There is a very interesting sci-fi book called Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. The main character is autistic and its told from his point of view. He works with a group of other autistic programmers on pattern recognition software.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by orngjce223 ( 1505655 )

      And I am proud of who I am (officially diagnosed, you insensitive clod!) - and, judging from the growth of forums such as Wrongplanet, the rise in Autism may be perfectly balanced with the rise in the prominence of the Internet. Over textual communication, nobody cares that you flap your hands, or that you can't keep eye contact without getting this weird fidgety feeling, or that you don't quite get anything until the second or third time.

      • by JordanL ( 886154 )
        I would just appreciate if scientists could explain whether autism is developmental or genetic. I haven't seen anything diffinitive either way.
        • I assume you mean environmentally-caused or genetic? Because "developmental" and "genetic" are in no way whatsoever opposites of each other or mutually exclusive in the least. Even if you do mean environmental, it's a false dichotomy. Very little is entirely one or the other. It's completely possible that certain genes give you an increased proclivity towards autism, but environmental factors (which can include those before you're born) decide whether or not you really make it onto the spectrum, and how far
          • by Xenna ( 37238 )

            This pretty much tells the story:

            "The disorder is seen often in identical twins: different studies have shown that if one identical twin has autism then there is a 63-98% chance that the other twin will have it. For non-identical twins (also called fraternal or dizygotic twins), the chance is between 0-10% that both twins will develop autism. The chance that siblings will be affected by autism is about 3%."

            It looks partly genetic.

            http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/aut.html [washington.edu]

      • by Renraku ( 518261 )

        Autism has been around for a long, long time.

        It's just that no one really diagnosed it before the 1900s.

        Now every time a toddler babbles or talks to themselves, their parents think they have autism and demand that their doctor do something about it. Parents can be very convincing and many have resorted to lawyers to prove that they know more than the medical community.

        In contrast, a lot of psychs and doctors are more educated in things like autism, so they're more likely to find and diagnose real cases.

        I d

    • My son, our second child, has an austism diagnosis. Personally I think his difficulty with language and resulting early behavioral issues stem from him being too smart, his mum and older sister being too talkative, and me being too lazy.

      To clarify a little; as a toddler he didn't need any help with anything he could reach, he'd grunt and point for anything he wanted that he couldn't reach, and we'd play 20 questions to work out what he needed help with. But mostly he didn't seem to need or what our help so

      • "I think his learning difficulties are more my fault for not knowing how to teach him"

        Many people don't get taught properly when they're young. Then don't end up autistic. So I would suggest you get off your cross and accept his condition for what it is, not what you want it to be and pretend that in some way he might one day get better. He won't. Deal.

    • My son was diagnosed with very-mild-autism when he was 3 years old.
      Instead of a series of drugs, our doctors prescribed an action course: no TV, all active plays, puzzles, and talking a lot to him.
      Now, at age 4 1/2, he as slowly come out of his shell and is talking normally at 80% efficiency.
      The doctors say he lags 6 months behind others of his age. His IQ is 90 for his age of 4 years.
      Of course he still is silent in school and does what he is told. His drawing skills are exceptional for his age and his teac

  • Hmmmm... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Could that explain why wankers seem to have more kids?

  • The summary ends by jumping straight from IVF to artificial insemination; those are two different (though overlapping) procedures. While IVF does essentially require artificial insemination to occur, artificial insemination can happen inside the uterus as well. Artificial insemination is a commonly employed technique for infertile couples who aren't willing, interested, or financially capable of undergoing IVF.
  • Cruel (Score:5, Funny)

    by slave_to_coffee ( 472193 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @05:24AM (#28555323)

    Posting this on Slashdot is like sending Pizza Hut circulars to Ethiopia

  • I'm just off to the office toilets with a copy of The Sun to "improve my fertility".
  • I remember reading many (>15) years ago a study about human sperm injected into chinese hamster eggs.
    The rationale is as follow: the DNA in human cells can be stained b a method called R banding or G banding, which , under the microcsope lets you look at the human genome - you can see something like 100 bands of dark and light, and there is a characteristic pattern; when you have large abnormalities, like an extra part of a chromosome, or a duplication, you see extra bands.
    This technique doesn't work on

  • by Jason Levine ( 196982 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @09:20AM (#28556665) Homepage

    This article's advice to ejaculate every day would be an interesting combination with this article's [laurenbernat.com] suggestion that human sperm can help diminish wrinkles.

  • by dhermann ( 648219 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @09:24AM (#28556707)

    Daily Sex Helps Improve

    ...everything.

  • Error in summary (Score:4, Informative)

    by DudeTheMath ( 522264 ) on Thursday July 02, 2009 @10:08AM (#28557195) Homepage

    TFA says it's 90% of embryos, not eggs. That makes a difference!

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