Sun Affects Fertility???

 

A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that increased Ultraviolet radiation can have an effect on human fertility over generations.

Gine Roll Skjærvø at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Biology has studied church records from 1750-1900 and looked at life history variables: how old were women when they had their first child, and their last? How many years passed between the birth of each child, and how many of these children survived? How many of these children were in turn married and had children?

All told, she studied information from more than 9,000 people listed in the church records she examined.

Part of this information was compared with environmental factors, including solar activity. Skjærvø and her colleagues found that children born in years with lots of solar activity had a higher probability of dying compared to children who were born in years with less solar activity.