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Drowning in a Sea of Microwaves

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i'm-doing-the-backstroke dept.

luciensims writes "The Independent is running an article on another study of the long-term effects of mobile phones. Given how widespread mobile phone use has become, will we even have an adequate control group 50 years from now to gauge what the effects have been?"

5 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. The Abstract from PUBMED via the NLM gateway by nutznboltz · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nerve cell damage in mammalian brain after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones.

    Salford LG, Brun AE, Eberhardt JL, Malmgren L, Persson BR.
    Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Jun;111(7):881-3; discussion A408.

    Department of Neurosurgery, Lund University, The Rausing Laboratory and Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. Leif.Salford@neurokir.lu.se

    The possible risks of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields for the human body is a growing concern for our society. We have previously shown that weak pulsed microwaves give rise to a significant leakage of albumin through the blood-brain barrier. In this study we investigated whether a pathologic leakage across the blood-brain barrier might be combined with damage to the neurons. Three groups each of eight rats were exposed for 2 hr to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) mobile phone electromagnetic fields of different strengths. We found highly significant (p 0.002) evidence for neuronal damage in the cortex, hippocampus, and basal ganglia in the brains of exposed rats.
    PMID: 12782486 [PubMed - in process]

    From PubMed

    1. Re:The Abstract from PUBMED via the NLM gateway by nutznboltz · · Score: 4, Informative

      The other abstract too.

      Permeability of the blood-brain barrier induced by 915 MHz electromagnetic radiation, continuous wave and modulated at 8, 16, 50, and 200 Hz.

      Salford LG, Brun A, Sturesson K, Eberhardt JL, Persson BR.
      Microsc Res Tech. 1994 Apr 15;27(6):535-42.

      Department of Neurosurgery, Lund University, Sweden.

      Biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) can be studied in sensitive and specific models. In a previous investigation of the permeability of the blood-brain barrier after exposure to the various EMF-components of proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we found that the exposure to MRI induced leakage of Evans Blue labeled proteins normally not passing the BBB of rats [Salford et al. (1992), in: Resonance Phenomena in Biology, Oxford University Press, pp. 87-91]. In the present investigation we exposed male and female Fischer 344 rats in a transverse electromagnetic transmission line chamber to microwaves of 915 MHz as continuous wave (CW) and pulse-modulated with repetition rates of 8, 16, 50, and 200 s-1. The specific energy absorption rate (SAR) varied between 0.016 and 5 W/kg. The rats were not anesthetized during the 2-hour exposure. All animals were sacrificed by perfusion-fixation of the brains under chloral hydrate anesthesia about 1 hour after the exposure. The brains were perfused with saline for 3-4 minutes, and thereafter fixed in 4% formaldehyde for 5-6 minutes. Central coronal sections of the brains were dehydrated and embedded in paraffin and sectioned at 5 microns. Albumin and fibrinogen were demonstrated immunohistochemically. The results show albumin leakage in 5 of 62 of the controls and in 56 of 184 of the animals exposed to 915 MHz microwaves. Continuous wave resulted in 14 positive findings of 35, which differ significantly from the controls (P = 0.002).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

      MeSH Terms:

      * Albumins/metabolism
      * Animal
      * Blood-Brain Barrier/*radiation effects
      * Brain/metabolism/radiation effects
      * Capillary Permeability/*radiation effects
      * *Electromagnetic Fields
      * Female
      * Fibrinogen/metabolism
      * Immunoenzyme Techniques
      * Male
      * Rats
      * Rats, Inbred F344
      * Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

      Substances:

      * 0 (Albumins)
      * 9001-32-5 (Fibrinogen)

      PMID: 8012056 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

      From PubMed

  2. quality of life by trolman · · Score: 4, Informative
    They could use my parents as they have never had a cell phone and I do not think they have even used a cell phone.

    The more important question to answer is "how many have died or been injured while using a cell phone." The number of cancers will pale in comparision. Well Harvard studied it and came up with a new point of view that there is a risk to benefit to be considered that precludes all of the above.

    To myself it it is all about improving the quality of life and the cell phone does not improve my life.

  3. Re:Control group by nightgeometry · · Score: 5, Informative

    I can not quote sources, *but i seem to remember* that the Amish and Menonites (sp), were quite into cell phones.
    They actually fit into the whole idealogy of technology that these two groups have, in that technology should be the slave of community. In this mode of thought it is a distinct advantage that cell phones are able to be turned off, they do not needlessly interupt personal life, as a 'normal' telephone does, and such like.

    Okay, heres that source I was talking about

    --
    The best is the enemy of the good
  4. inverse square law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hasn't anyone taught you about the Inverse Square Law? When you double the distance between a radiation source and its target, the power over the same target area is reduced to 1/4 what it was. So, if you are 100 times farther away from the cell phone as the idiot using it, you receive 1/10,000 the signal dosage.

    If there's enough power at that distance to fry your brain, the obnoxious twit using it will be dead in a couple days of an overdose. But, since he won't be dead in 2 days, or even a month, from the radio signal in his phone, you won't be dead either.

    Get a sense of proportionality, dude!