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Study Shows Cell Phones Safe

Posted by Zonk on from the safe-for-our-human-brains dept.

PreacherTom writes "In a move worthy of the Mythbusters, scientists in Denmark tracked over 420,000 cell phone users over the course of 21 years in an attempt to determine if the urban legend that cell phone use causes cancer is true. Their results: the RF energy produced by the phones did not correlate to an increased incidence of the disease. Please note that this doesn't make chatting on the highway at 85 mph any more safe." From the article: 'This so-called Danish cohort "is probably the strongest study out there because of the outstanding registries they keep,' said Joshua Muscat of Pennsylvania State University, who also has studied cell phones and cancer. 'As the body of evidence accumulates, people can become more reassured that these devices are safe, but the final word is not there yet,' Muscat added."

5 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Mythbusters != science by mollymoo · · Score: 5, Insightful
    In a move worthy of the Mythbusters, [...]

    If I had an important paper published in a respected scientific journal and someone told me my work was 'worthy of the Mythbusters' I'd punch them in the face.

    --
    Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' - BBC News
  2. Re:_other_ parts of the body by TrappedByMyself · · Score: 5, Funny

    I carry my cell phone in my pants pocket. Is it safe?

    Yeah, I do too, but only because I keep it on vibrate mode

    --

    Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
  3. Re:21 years? by Jott42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sweden (not Denmark, but close) did start an analog cell phone network in 1981: the NMT system. The system was standardised to be the same within the nordic countries, of which Denmark is one. (Japan started even earlier, in 1979)
    It is not always correct to assume that USA is on the edge of technology development and deployment.

  4. Not at all like MythBusters by thirty-seven · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is not at all a "move worthy of MythBusters" as the submitter stated. Mythbusters is entertaining and generally informative television, and this Danish study sounds solid, but the methodologies are totally different, for the obvious reason that sifting through hundreds of thousands of medical records accumulated over many years and applying complex statistical models to them does not make for compelling television.

    --

    Atheism is a religion to the same extent that not collecting stamps is a hobby.

  5. Re:They didnt let the facts get in the way before, by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > One study does not a conclusion make.

    That depends on the study...most importantly, on its size. 21 years and 450,000 subjects makes for a pretty damn solid conclusion. And where are the studies that show any other conclusion?

    Chris Mattern