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Effects of GSM-like radiofrequency irradiation during the oogenesis and spermiogenesis of Xenopus laevis.

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Boga A, Emre M, Sertdemir Y, Uncu İ, Binokay S, Demirhan O. · 2016

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Cell phone radiation damaged frog reproductive cells, causing up to 5x more abnormal offspring at exposure levels similar to everyday phone use.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed adult frogs to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 8 hours daily over 5 weeks, then examined their offspring. Exposed parents produced 3-5 times more abnormal and dead embryos than unexposed pairs, demonstrating that radiofrequency radiation can damage reproductive cells and harm the next generation.

Why This Matters

This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation can damage reproductive health across generations. The SAR level used (1.0 W/kg) is within the range of typical cell phone exposures, making these findings directly relevant to human health concerns. What's particularly striking is that exposure to just one parent significantly increased embryo abnormalities and death rates, while exposure to both parents produced the worst outcomes. The science demonstrates that RF radiation doesn't just affect the exposed individual but can impact their future offspring through damage to sperm and egg cells. This research adds to a growing body of evidence showing that our current safety standards may not adequately protect reproductive health, especially given that many people carry phones near their reproductive organs daily.

Exposure Details

SAR
1 W/kg
Source/Device
900 MHz
Exposure Duration
8 h a day over a 5-week period

Exposure Context

This study used 1 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 W/kgExtreme Concern0.1 W/kgFCC Limit1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 2x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

We aimed to evaluate the effect of GSM-like radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on the oogenesis, and spermiogenesis of Xenopus laevis, and so the development of the embryos obtained from Normal Females+Normal Males (i.e. “N(F)+N(M)”); Normal Females+RF-exposed Males (i.e. “N(F)+RF(M)”); RF-exposed Female+Normal Male (i.e. “RF(F)+N(M)”); and RF-exposed Female+RF-exposed Male (i.e. “RF(F)+RF(M)”.

Various, assessments were performed to determine potential teratogenic effects and mortality, body g...

In our present study (control group; 2.2% abnormal, 0.0% dead); with the N(F)+RF(M) combination, the...

Cite This Study
Boga A, Emre M, Sertdemir Y, Uncu İ, Binokay S, Demirhan O. (2016). Effects of GSM-like radiofrequency irradiation during the oogenesis and spermiogenesis of Xenopus laevis. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 129:137-144, 2016.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2016_effects_of_gsmlike_radiofrequency_867,
  author = {Boga A and Emre M and Sertdemir Y and Uncu İ and Binokay S and Demirhan O.},
  title = {Effects of GSM-like radiofrequency irradiation during the oogenesis and spermiogenesis of Xenopus laevis.},
  year = {2016},
  
  url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147651316300756},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed adult frogs to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 8 hours daily over 5 weeks, then examined their offspring. Exposed parents produced 3-5 times more abnormal and dead embryos than unexposed pairs, demonstrating that radiofrequency radiation can damage reproductive cells and harm the next generation.