Male genitals are shrinking because of phthalates, warns Dr Shanna Swan | Hacker News Reader

Male genitals are shrinking because of phthalates, warns Dr Shanna Swan

news.sky.com

53 pointsisomorph27 comments

Recent and related:

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I like the idea that a group of scientists got tired of warning people about climate change and being ignored so they just figured it would be easier to say "pollution will make your dick smaller"

I dont believe policy makers will be to stirred up by this revelation given their standing lol

The problem is that sex becomes less and less popular as well, so it may become irrelevant...

Maybe there is a correlation between the two

“Dr Swan believes that the rapidly decreasing fertility rate means that most men will be unable to produce viable sperm by 2045.”

Children of Men was off by only a few years then

> Children of Men was off by only a few years then

For everyone else:

[In 2027, after 18 years of total human infertility and global depression, the world is on the brink of collapse and humanity faces extinction.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Men#Plot)

So according to the movie it started in 2009. The movie was released in 2006.

... "and nothing of value was lost" ;-)

And that's how the world will look like then: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/

She should lose her PhD for "stupid extrapolation".

Looking at 18 year olds today versus a hundred years ago is like looking at current college students versus current high schoolers.

This isn't an empirical study by any means but do they look the same?

https://www.awsumnews.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Rugby...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7c/ae/62/7cae6291fd24b43400c7...

Mustaches aside, yes.

Is there data from 100 years ago to support this?

The manly men of the past were manlets.

I’d be interested in hearing from someone who is an expert: is this accurate, is there a consensus in the field that this is a real effect and phthalates are to blame? Are there peer reviewed studies saying so?

Looks like it. Also from the article:

"One study published in 2017 found that sperm levels among men in Western countries had dropped by more than 50% over the past four decades after examining 185 studies involving close to 45,000 healthy men."

I'm assuming parent is asking for evidence around the "shrinking" part of the claim

They didn't mention that so I assume they're more generally referring to the claims made in the article.

Research indicates the growing obesity epidemic likely plays a big role in this equation as well.

Phthalates causes infertility? So it's a self-balancing system after all.

What do you mean?

Our creation and use of the substance is creating a negative feedback loop, causing a reduction in future population.

Not all negative feedback is stabilising.

Penis size is not really correlated with a reduction of population.

Maybe this headline will cause some serious action on climate change :).

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