Eberhardt JL, Persson BR, Brun AE, Salford LG, Malmgren LO · 2008
Researchers exposed rats to GSM microwave signals in the 900 MHz band and measured blood-brain barrier permeability and signs of neuronal damage after recovery periods of 14 or 28 days. Non-anaesthetized rats were sham exposed or exposed to microwaves for 2 hours at whole-body specific absorption rates of 0.12, 1.2, 12, or 120 mW/kg. Albumin leakage and its uptake into neurons was enhanced after 14 days but not after the 28-day recovery period, while the occurrence of dark neurons was enhanced after 28 days.
Eberhardt JL, Persson BR, Brun AE, Salford LG, Malmgren LO. · 2008
Swedish researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation at 900 MHz for 2 hours and examined their brains 14 and 28 days later. They found that the radiation compromised the blood-brain barrier (the protective shield around the brain) and caused nerve cell damage. The blood-brain barrier leaked proteins into brain tissue within 14 days, while actual nerve cell death appeared after 28 days.
Unknown authors · 2008
Researchers exposed Escherichia coli ATCC 700926 to 50 Hz electromagnetic fields at 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mT and compared them with sham-exposed controls. Exposed and control samples had similar total and culturable counts. Exposed samples showed increased cell viability after 24 hours of re-incubation outside the solenoid. Exposure for 20–120 minutes caused significant morphological changes including coccoid cells and atypical lengthened forms. DNA fingerprinting showed no changes, while RNA-AFLP analysis revealed some differences at each field intensity.
Unknown authors · 2008
Researchers exposed E. coli bacteria to 50 Hz electromagnetic fields (the same frequency as power lines) at various intensities for up to 2 hours. While the bacteria survived normally, they showed signs of stress including changed cell shapes, clustering behavior, and altered gene activity. This suggests that power line frequency EMF acts as a biological stressor even in simple organisms.
Schwarz C et al. · 2008
Researchers exposed human cultured fibroblasts and human lymphocyte cultures to 1,950 MHz UMTS electromagnetic fields at specific absorption rates below the safety limit of 2 W/kg. UMTS exposure increased the comet tail factor and induced centromere-negative micronuclei in human cultured fibroblasts in a dose- and time-dependent way. Incubation for 24 hours at a SAR of 0.05 W/kg produced a statistically significant rise in both the comet tail factor and micronuclei (P = 0.02). No UMTS effect was found in lymphocytes, whether unstimulated or stimulated with Phytohemagglutinin. The researchers concluded that UMTS exposure may cause genetic alterations in some but not in all human cells in vitro.
Schwarz C et al. · 2008
Researchers exposed human cells to 3G mobile phone radiation (UMTS at 1,950 MHz) at levels well below safety limits to test for DNA damage. They found that certain cells called fibroblasts showed significant genetic damage after exposure, while immune cells called lymphocytes were unaffected. This suggests that 3G radiation can cause DNA damage in some human cell types even at supposedly safe exposure levels.
Nagaoka T, Kunieda E, Watanabe S · 2008
Researchers used an existing Japanese adult voxel model and three-dimensional deformation to create models representing average-size Japanese children at 3, 5, and 7 years old. The models consist of cubic voxels 2 mm on each side segmented into 51 tissues and organs. They calculated whole-body-averaged and tissue-averaged specific absorption rates for the child models exposed to plane waves from 30 MHz to 3 GHz and compared the results with scaled down adult models. They also determined the incident electric-field strength needed to produce a whole-body-averaged SAR of 0.08 W kg(-1), the ICNIRP basic restriction for general public exposure.
Croft RJ et al. · 2008
Researchers tested 120 healthy participants in a double-blind, counterbalanced crossover design, with each person receiving a 30-minute active and a 30-minute sham exposure one week apart while EEG data were recorded. The purpose of the study was to test one of the strongest findings in the literature, that of increased alpha power in response to MP-type radiation. Overall alpha power was enhanced during exposure, with the effect larger at sites on the same side as the exposure source than on the opposite side over posterior regions. After exposure ended, no overall change to alpha power was observed, though there was less alpha power contralateral to the exposure source relative to the ipsilateral side.
Dasdag S, Akdag MZ, Ulukaya E, Uzunlar AK, Yegin D. · 2008
Apoptosis was assessed by immunohistochemical staining for cleaved caspase-3 in testicular tissue. The exposed group showed no statistically significant difference in apoptosis scores compared to sham and cage control groups.
Roux D et al. · 2008
Researchers exposed tomato plants to 900 MHz, 5 V m(-1) electromagnetic fields for 10 minutes using a Mode Stirred Reverberation Chamber. Within minutes, stress-related mRNAs for calmodulin, calcium-dependent protein kinase, and proteinase inhibitor accumulated in a rapid, large, three-phase pattern typical of an environmental stress response. Transcript accumulation was maximal at normal calcium levels, depressed at higher calcium, and completely suppressed when calcium was removed with chelators or channel blockers. Thirty minutes after exposure, ATP concentration and adenylate energy charge transiently decreased, and the uncoupler CCCP prevented transcript accumulation entirely.
Falone S et al. · 2008
Scientists exposed young and old rats to power-line magnetic fields for 10 days. Young rats strengthened their brain's protective systems, but older rats experienced weakened defenses against cellular damage. This suggests aging makes brains more vulnerable to magnetic field exposure from electrical devices.
George DF, Bilek MM, McKenzie DR. · 2008
Researchers studied the effect of 2,450 MHz microwaves on protein unfolding using surface plasmon resonance sensing. They used citrate synthase which binds to alpha crystallin chaperone when unfolded, and compared microwave heating with ambient heating and combined heating to the same final temperature. Microwaves caused a significantly higher degree of unfolding than conventional thermal stress at the same maximum temperature.
Hinrikus H, Bachmann M, Lass J, Tomson R, Tuulik V. · 2008
Thirteen healthy volunteers were exposed to 450 MHz microwaves pulse-modulated at frequencies of 7, 14 and 21 Hz to evaluate effects on electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms. Modulated microwaves caused an average increase in EEG alpha power of 17% and beta power of 7%, while the theta rhythm remained unaffected. Increases in EEG alpha and beta power were statistically significant during the first 30 seconds of exposure at modulation frequencies of 14 and 21 Hz, but no enhancement occurred at 7 Hz. The researchers also found differences in individual sensitivity to exposure, with increases in EEG beta power appearing statistically significant in four subjects.
Höytö A, Luukkonen J, Juutilainen J, Naarala J. · 2008
Researchers exposed human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma and mouse L929 fibroblast cells to 872 MHz radiofrequency radiation at a specific absorption rate of 5 W/kg, using either continuous waves or a GSM-modulated signal. Two statistically significant differences related to RF radiation were found: t-BOOH-induced lipid peroxidation was increased in SH-SY5Y cells, and menadione-induced caspase 3 activity was increased in L929 cells, but both only for the GSM-modulated signal. No other endpoints were significantly affected, and no effects were observed from RF radiation exposure alone.
Höytö A, Luukkonen J, Juutilainen J, Naarala J · 2008
Finnish researchers exposed human brain cells and mouse cells to 872 MHz radiation (similar to cell phone frequencies) at high power levels, both alone and combined with chemical stressors. They found that RF radiation by itself caused no effects, but when combined with oxidative stress chemicals, it amplified certain cellular damage markers in specific cell types.
Koh EK, Ryu BK, Jeong DY, Bang IS, Nam MH, Chae KS · 2008
Researchers examined the effects of power frequency magnetic fields on cell growth in DU145, PC3, and LNCaP prostate cancer cells in vitro. The cells were exposed to various intensities and durations of 60-Hz sinusoidal magnetic fields with various serum concentrations. MF exposure induced significant cell growth inhibition and apoptosis in an intensity- and time-dependent manner, with increased cell cycle arrest, cleaved Caspase-3, and reactive oxygen species. Pretreatment with a Caspase-3 inhibitor or the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine significantly attenuated the magnetic field-induced growth inhibition and cell death. Media replacement experiments did not alter the magnetic field effects.
Djeridane Y, Touitou Y, de Seze R. · 2008
Researchers exposed 20 healthy men to 900 MHz GSM radiation from a cellular phone for 2 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. Blood samples were taken hourly at night and every 3 hours during the day across four sessions spaced 15 days apart, using each man's pre-exposure levels as his control. All hormone levels stayed within normal ranges, and circadian patterns of prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropin, and testosterone were not disrupted, while growth hormone and cortisol maximum levels decreased significantly during exposure but returned to baseline afterward.
Kleinlogel H et al. · 2008
Researchers tested whether cell phone radiation from GSM and UMTS networks affects brain activity and cognitive performance in 15 healthy adults. They measured brain waves and reaction times during various mental tasks while participants were exposed to phone radiation at levels typical of actual phone use. The study found no significant changes in brain activity or cognitive function during EMF exposure compared to fake (sham) exposure.
Unknown authors · 2008
Exposure did not significantly affect body weight or testosterone levels. TUNEL staining revealed a significantly higher apoptotic rate in germ cells of exposed mice compared to sham controls, with TUNEL-positive cells mainly being spermatogonia. Electron microscopy showed degenerating spermatogonia with condensation of nuclear chromatin similar to apoptosis.
Unknown authors · 2008
Researchers exposed mice to 60 Hz magnetic fields at 14 microT (similar to levels near power lines) for 16 weeks and found significantly increased death of sperm-producing cells in the testes. The magnetic field exposure didn't affect body weight or testosterone levels, but caused programmed cell death specifically in spermatogonia, the cells that develop into sperm. This suggests that everyday magnetic field exposures could potentially impact male fertility.
Grafström G et al. · 2008
Swedish researchers exposed rats to GSM-900 cell phone radiation once weekly for over a year at power levels similar to what humans experience during phone calls. When they examined the rats' brains afterward, they found no signs of damage including blood-brain barrier leakage, cell death, or aging-related changes. This suggests that intermittent cell phone radiation exposure at typical usage levels may not cause detectable brain tissue damage.
Dimbylow PJ, Hirata A, Nagaoka T. · 2008
The study intercompared the HPA male and female models NORMAN and NAOMI with the NICT male and female models TARO and HANAKO. Particular emphasis was placed on how dielectric properties are assigned to tissues such as skin and fat and on the consequences of different SAR calculation algorithms at higher frequencies. Whole-body SAR calculations were performed at three institutions for a vertically polarized plane wave incident on the front of the body from 30 MHz to 3 GHz under isolated conditions.
Falzone N et al. · 2008
Researchers exposed ejaculated, density-purified human spermatozoa to pulsed 900 MHz GSM radiation at SAR levels of 2.0 and 5.7 W/kg and compared them with controls over time. Mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by flow cytometry and showed no effect from the radiation. Sperm motility was assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis, and all kinematic parameters were unaffected at 2.0 W/kg. At 5.7 W/kg, straight-line velocity and beat-cross frequency were significantly impaired over time (P < 0.05), with no exposure-by-time interaction. The authors state the result should not be ascribed to thermal effects due to cooling methods and temperature control.
Zeni O et al. · 2008
Kleinlogel H et al. · 2008
Researchers tested 1950 MHz UMTS at SAR 0.1 and 1 W/kg and pulsed 900 MHz GSM at 1 W/kg on well-being and vigilance-controlled resting EEG in 15 healthy right-handed subjects. The study used a double-blind randomised crossover design. Neither UMTS nor GSM exposure produced significant changes in measured parameters compared to sham exposure. The results did not give evidence for a deleterious effect of the EMF on normal healthy mobile phone users.
