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Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin.

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Karinen A, Heinavaara S, Nylund R, Leszczynski D. · 2008

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Mobile phone radiation causes measurable protein changes in human skin at typical phone exposure levels.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed forearm skin in 10 women to typical mobile phone radiation levels, then analyzed tissue samples. They found 8 proteins significantly altered by the radiation exposure, with 2 proteins affected in all participants, demonstrating measurable biological changes from phone radiation.

Why This Matters

This groundbreaking research represents a critical milestone in EMF health science because it bridges the gap between laboratory studies and real-world human exposure. While industry advocates often dismiss cell studies as irrelevant to human health, this research proves that mobile phone radiation does indeed cause measurable biological changes in living human tissue. The SAR level used (1.3 W/kg) is well within the range of typical mobile phone exposure during calls, making these findings directly relevant to daily phone use. What this means for you is that your body is biochemically responding to mobile phone radiation in ways we're only beginning to understand. The fact that researchers found consistent protein changes across all volunteers suggests these aren't random effects but reproducible biological responses to RF exposure.

Exposure Details

SAR
1.3 W/kg

Exposure Context

This study used 1.3 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 1.3 W/kgExtreme Concern0.1 W/kgFCC Limit1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 1x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

In this pilot human volunteer study, using proteomics approach, we have examined whether a local exposure of human skin to RF-EMF will cause changes in protein expression in living people.

Small area of forearm's skin in 10 female volunteers was exposed to RF-EMF (specific absorption rate...

This is the first study showing that molecular level changes might take place in human volunteers in response to exposure to RF-EMF. Our study confirms that proteomics screening approach can identify protein targets of RF-EMF in human volunteers.

Cite This Study
Karinen A, Heinavaara S, Nylund R, Leszczynski D. (2008). Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin. BMC Genomics. 9(1):77, 2008.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2008_mobile_phone_radiation_might_1089,
  author = {Karinen A and Heinavaara S and Nylund R and Leszczynski D.},
  title = {Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin.},
  year = {2008},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18267023/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed forearm skin in 10 women to typical mobile phone radiation levels, then analyzed tissue samples. They found 8 proteins significantly altered by the radiation exposure, with 2 proteins affected in all participants, demonstrating measurable biological changes from phone radiation.