In recent decades, there have been periodic reports of a worldwide decline in sperm count and quality. Male infertility has ostensibly been on the rise, accompanied by increases in testicular cancer and hypospadias -- a congenital defect in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside, rather than at the end, of the penis. Taken together, these three conditions have been termed testicular dysgenesis syndrome.

University of Nevada School of Medicine scientists in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology have discovered insight into the reproductive workings of the male sex chromosome that may have significant implications for male infertility and contraception.

Proteins found in sperm are central to understanding male infertility and could be used to determine new diagnostic methods and fertility treatments according to a paper published by the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (MCP). The article demonstrates how proteomics, a relatively new field focusing on the function of proteins in a cell, can be successfully applied to infertility, helping identify which proteins in sperm cells are dysfunctional.

Recently, a cancer center director warned his staff about the risks of cell phone radiation as it relates to cancer. But as early as 2006, I wrote about a study linking cell phones with infertility. You'd think someone else would have run a confirming study before now, but I guess not.

A minimally invasive treatment for a common cause of male infertility can significantly improve a couple's chances for pregnancy, according to a new study published in the August issue of Radiology. The study, conducted at the University of Bonn in Germany, also found that the level of sperm motility prior to treatment is a key predictor of success.

Diabetes in men has a direct effect on fertility, a scientist told the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 9 July).

A team of scientists led by University of Pennsylvania veterinary researchers have identified a gene, TEX11, located on the X chromosome, which when disrupted in mice renders the males sterile and reduces female fecundity. This is the first study of the genetic causes of infertility that links a particular sex chromosome meiosis-specific gene to sterility.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that field mice have evolved a unique way of ensuring faster fertilisation, a phenomenon which could explain some cases of infertility in humans.

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) suggest epigenetics, or the way DNA is processed and expressed, may be the underlying cause for male infertility. The study will be published in the Dec. 12 issue of Public Library of Science One.

Two reports from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center shed new light on male infertility. A first report shows that a common cause of male infertility -- varicoceles, or varicose veins in the scrotum -- also results in a depletion of testosterone.

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a gene crucial to the final step of the formation of a functional sperm cell.

A national study reveals that the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI -- an assisted reproductive technology used to treat male-factor infertility -- has increased dramatically in the United States since 1995, while the proportion of patients receiving treatment for male-factor infertility has remained stable.