Radio frequency radiation from mobile phones can damage
DNA in laboratory conditions, European researchers said in a recent
study.
The study, called Reflex, which stands for Risk Evaluation of
Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Energy Electromagnetic
Field Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro Methods, was a four-year,
€3m-plus (£2.09m) research project majority-funded by the European
Union.
Results of the research project, which ended in May, were
published on the internet earlier this month.
"We have proven that electromagnetic fields - in high and low
frequencies - damage cells in individual cell systems," said Franz
Adlkofer, executive director of the Verum Foundation for Behavior
and Environment, which coordinated the Reflex research project.
"But these results cannot be readily transferred to human
beings. Isolated cell systems are something entirely different from
complete organisms."
If, however, similar findings are ever achieved in living
organisms such as rats or mice, "then we have a big problem",
Adlkofer said.
More people own mobile phones today than they do fixed-line
phones, with the gap growing larger every year.
After being exposed to electromagnetic fields similar to those
produced by mobile phones, the isolated cells showed a significant
rise in single and double-strand DNA breaks, according to a summary
of the final report. The cells were not always able to repair
themselves.
DNA carries genetic information about an organism. It is
organised on chromosomes located in the nucleus of a cell.
For their study, researchers used radiation levels between a
specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0.3 and 2 watts per kilogram
(W/kg), according to the report. Most mobile phones emit radio
signals at SAR levels of between 0.5 W/kg and 1 W/kg.
SAR is used to measure the rate of radio energy absorbed by body
tissue. The SAR limit recommended by the International Commission
of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection is 2 W/kg, according to the
group's website.
Adlkofer called for further research, in particular into the
impact of electromagnetic fields on mice and rats.
Several brain-cancer suits have been filed against US mobile
phone companies, but judges have dismissed most of them for lack of
scientific evidence.
John Blau writes for IDG News Service