I love my laptop but...

Sometimes I wonder about all that heat coming from my laptop. The first laptop pad I bought was not very comfortable, but I really like sitting on the couch with my feet up and my ibook on my lap.

I just purchased an Xpad and it's more comfortable than the first one.

Checking Google Scholar for studies on laptop safety, I found very little. I saw nothing on electromagnetic fields or wireless signals specific to using your computer on your lap, and the one report on laptop heat was about risks to male fertility.

The researchers concluded that

working laptop computers in a laptop position causes significant scrotal temperature elevation as a result of heat exposure and posture-related effects. This may have a negative impact upon spermatogenesis, specifically in teenage boys and young men. Further studies of such thermal effects on male reproductive health are warranted.(From Human Reproduction 2005)