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Research Reproductive health

Preprint: 30 minutes of phone exposure altered mouse sperm quality and slowed development of embryos conceived with it

October 24, 2026 (EMFS)
Oct 19, 2026 (original)
Source: Research Square (preprint)
Source category: Research
AI use
A team at the Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute in Iran exposed mouse sperm to a mobile phone in call mode for 30 minutes, then fertilised oocytes with the exposed sperm and followed the embryos by time-lapse imaging. Progressive motility, viability and normal morphology fell, DNA fragmentation and the lipid peroxidation marker malondialdehyde rose, and three mitochondrial genes were downregulated, while sperm count and the acrosome reaction were unchanged. Embryos conceived with the exposed sperm showed delayed cleavage and compaction, lower quality and survival, and more fragmentation and developmental arrest. The authors caution that the sperm were exposed outside the male reproductive tract in a mouse model, and the paper is a preprint that has not been peer reviewed. It follows a July systematic review of sperm function in rodent models.

Quotes

"These findings suggest that short-duration exposure of mouse sperm to cell phone RF-EMR can impair sperm functional and molecular characteristics and is associated with adverse preimplantation development of embryos derived from exposed sperm."

— Datli Beigi et al.

"Our findings are consistent with these studies, as they measured ROS directly or used MDA as a biomarker. RF‑EMR damages the mitochondrial electron transport chain, causing electron leakage and excessive production of superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide."

— Datli Beigi et al.

Exposure

"The RF-EMR source was a commercial android mobile phone (LG GT-S6310) operating at a carrier frequency range of 900–1800 MHz with a reported specific absorption rate of 0.6–1.8 W/kg. The device was placed at a fixed distance of 10 cm from the sperm dish placed on the incubator tray for 30 min."

— Datli Beigi et al., Research Square preprint (2026), Methods

Location

📍 Iran

Map: Iran

Source

Cell phone radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation exposure alters mouse sperm quality and impairs preimplantation development of embryos derived from exposed sperm researchsquare.com

📄 Underlying Research

Cell phone radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation exposure alters mouse sperm quality and impairs preimplantation development of embryos derived from exposed sperm

(2026) Research Square (preprint) Journal Level 0ⓘ

🔗 DOI 📰 Full Article

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