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A Balanced Look At Cellphone Radiation

A month back we discussed an article in GQ on the alarmist side of the cellphone-radiation question. Now reader pgn674 passes along a PopSci feature article looking at the current state of cellphone radiation research. It profiles people who claim to be electro-hypersensitive, "who are reluctant to subject themselves to hours in an electronics-laden facility" for studies. The limited research on that condition is still showing that sufferers, in blind tests, are unable to detect radiation at levels better than chance. The article also touches on the relationship of non-ionizing radiation to cancer. The conclusion is that while it seems unlikely high-frequency fields in consumer devices directly cause cancer, they might promote it, and might also indirectly cause other health deficits beyond simply heating nearby tissue — though one skeptical researcher cautions, "The gap between a biological effect and an adverse health effect is a big one."

2 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. For all those hyper-electrosensitives out there by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    Check out your pharmacy. I'm fairly sure there are some Bach flowers tinctures available by now that can cure the problem. If everything fails, get a few healing crystals.

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    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. Re:On the other hand... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As Lessig said in his latest website chat, 75% of studies not funded by the cellphone industry found evidence for a connection.

    As a matter of interest, who *were* they funded by? People with an interest in proving a link between RF from mobile phones and cancer?