Just as we were publishing the last post about the potential effects of pollution on mortality rates, the tabloids were busy digging up another study (so fresh it hasn’t even been peer-reviewed) which suggests a potential explanation for men being more affected by the coronavirus than women – because the virus could be hiding in testicles.

We had the balls to read the original study and, just like the one on pollution, it’s an observational study that highlights a rather far-fetched pathway between the prevalence of certain tissues in the male sexual organs and coronavirus mortality rates. The thinking is that the ACE2 enzyme of the SARS-CoV2 expresses more in certain tissues and those found in testicles are some with the highest rates. Looking at this strictly from a critical thinking perspective, with no medical background, it sounds plausible, which is why, just like for the previous study, we salute any research that could help in the fight against the virus.

However, we want to point out that this remains a hypothesis and, as the authors themselves admit, experimental research would be needed to investige further. As the mortality rate from COVID-19 is so high worldwide, we assume post-mortem examinations would be possible in most countries.

So, men, let’s wait calmly and see what the follow-up research uncovers.