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Cellphone Radiation May Protect Brain From Alzheimers

We've discussed cellphones and cancer many times. Here's a new angle: reader olddotter sends in a Reuters article suggesting that cellphone radiation may protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease. "At the end of that time, they found cellphone exposure erased a build-up of beta amyloid, a protein that serves as a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's mice showed improvement and had reversal of their brain pathology..."

23 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. Mice by maxume · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe the mice that were talking on cell phones had a richer mental life, staving off the disease for reasons other than the radiation.

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    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    1. Re:Mice by docneuro · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe the mice that were talking on cell phones had a richer mental life, staving off the disease for reasons other than the radiation.

      Nah. There was less amyloid because the mice unfortunately crashed their cars while talking on the cell phone and just died young.

      Nothing to see here... move along.

    2. Re:Mice by GargamelSpaceman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Although in this case, they actually proved causation.

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      ...
    3. Re:Mice by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...Except this experiment used mice and does more or less prove causation.....

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  2. Re:Choice to Make by lorenlal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe we've got it all wrong... Can alzheimers be the cure for cancer?

  3. Of course it must be true by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Funny

    The mice have been running the experiment to check the safety of cellphones for mice use by making the human beings to use them for a long time. It is quite well known and well documented actually.

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  4. Re:Choice to Make by arthurpaliden · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't remember......

  5. Hello, Mickey? by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The results were a major surprise and open the possibility of developing a noninvasive, drug-free treatment for Alzheimer's, said lead author Gary Arendash of the University of South Florida.

    He said he had expected cell phone exposure to increase the effects of dementia.

    This is how science is SUPPOSED to work! But don't get your hopes up...

    Many treatments that have shown promise in mice have had little effect on humans.

    I wonder if this affects the non-Alzheimer's "senior moments" as my mother calls them? I wish they'd had cell phones when I was young! Now where'd I put that damned phone???

  6. Fixing Forgetfull Grandma... by jameskojiro · · Score: 4, Funny

    Duct Tape, check
    Cell phones, check

    So we should go buy a bunch of those pre-paid cell phones and duct tape them to grandma's head and hope to heck her memory gets better.

    --
    Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
    1. Re:Fixing Forgetfull Grandma... by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can send you some duct tape if you'd like...

  7. scary by StripedCow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This proves that cellphone radiation actually interacts with matter in the brain... which is something to be afraid of, in my opinion.

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    If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
    1. Re:scary by sunking2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Bingo. So much for the argument that the energy is non-ionizing thus cell phones are safe. Assuming this study is factual.

    2. Re:scary by dr2chase · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, but. Cellphone radiation (.85-1.9Ghz) does not penetrate that far into your body, just as microwave radiation (2.45Ghz) does not penetrate that far into a potato.

      Studies show that mouse heads are much smaller than human heads, therefore they are getting a much larger dose to their brain, for a given external exposure.

    3. Re:scary by mcmonkey · · Score: 5, Funny
      Studies show that mouse heads are much smaller than human heads

      [Citation needed]

  8. If you give a mouse a cell phone, by MrEricSir · · Score: 4, Funny

    He's going to ask for a Bluetooth headset.

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    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  9. Re:Easily explained by gknoy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's an interesting point. As we conquer the lower hanging medical fruit, and prevent the things that used to kill people younger (disease, malnutrition, gum disease, accidents etc), a higher proportion of the people that DO die will be dying because of old age, or of diseases which only tend to affect older people.

  10. Re:Choice to Make by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 5, Funny

    On a long enough timeline, the rate of survival always drops to zero. Stop worrying so much.

  11. Re:Choice to Make by MaWeiTao · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No correlation to cancer? That's not what studies are showing. I've also read that cell phones sitting in pockets have been connected to reduced sperm count.

    Certainly, given the widespread use of mobile phones and their clear value to us, it would be quite earth-shattering to discover a clear and specific link between phones and cancer. However, at this point I've say the threat is likely quite minimal with moderate use. But mobile phones haven't been around nearly long enough for us to be able to gauge their effects on us. Wait until this generation starts aging; then we'll have a better indication of whether or not cell phones are a danger or not.

    You seem fairly eager to believe one study over another simply because that one shows a positive side-effect. There's no reason why one study should be inherently more valid than the other, especially since many of these other studies have been conducted directly on humans.

  12. Re:A thought that crossed my mind about EM radiati by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why accept this, but not the original arguments regarding microwave radiation?

    Because this is based on a scientific, reproducible study that shows an actual effect, whereas, the claims that there were negative effects were contradicted by all of the scientific, reproducible experiments that were run to test them.

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  13. Re:A thought that crossed my mind about EM radiati by boojum.cat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The argument, as I understand it, is that cancer is caused by mutated DNA, and DNA cannot be mutated by radiation that's too weak to break chemical bonds. Since cell phone radiation doesn't break bonds, it doesn't cause cancer. If Alzheimer's is caused by something other than mutated DNA, the argument doesn't apply.

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  14. Re:A thought that crossed my mind about EM radiati by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Informative

    Why accept this, but not the original arguments regarding microwave radiation?

    Because there isn't any evidence that cellphone use is harmful. Conjecture is useless until tested.

  15. Ironic by LordKronos · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, cell phones protect from alzheimers? The condition that (among other effects) causes people to forget things ? I find that quite ironic, considering that it seems 99% of people forget how to drive when they're on one.

    P.S. At least I think that's irony. Every time I think I've got it down, someone shows me a new rule for what is or isn't irony. My apologies to the grammar Nazis in advance if I have it wrong.

  16. Re:Choice to Make by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That is entirely wrong. Alzheimers isn't the dissolving of brain tissue but growth of plaques, or at least correlated to it. Your analogy is not an oversimplification, but just a completely wrong description of what is happening. In fact, who is to say that the abnormal conditions presented by so much growth doesn't increase the likelihood of cancer and people just die too soon for it to be statistically signifigant. Please do not ever attempt to describe this disease again as you are not only misleading, but apparently compelling enough for an insightful mod.