DeCode's effort focuses on an obscure gene that makes a substance called 5-lipoxygenase activating protein, or Flap.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

The researchers showed that light was activating in the mice a protein, melanopsin, which also has a role in regulating the body clock, and is present in people.

BBC: Light in womb 'gives healthy eyes' - in mice

In addition, heating up the sperm destroys a protein which is key to activating the egg during fertilisation, reducing the overall chance of successful implantation from 30% to 13%.

BBC: Sperm heating could foil HIV