Cancer rise and sperm quality fall 'due to chemicals'

Sperm quality significantly deteriorated and testicular cancers increased over recent years, a Finnish study says. The study in the International Journal of Andrology looked at men born between 1979 and 1987. The University of Turku research suggests environmental reasons, particularly exposure to industrial chemicals, may be behind both trends. A UK expert said chemicals may affect the development of male babies. Finnish men were studied as they have previously been shown to have some of the highest sperm counts in the world. But scientists were never sure if this was because of their genetics or because they were exposed to fewer harmful chemicals.