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Adaptive response in mice exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields: primary DNA damage.

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Jiang B, Nie J, Zhou Z, Zhang J, Tong J, Cao Y. · 2012

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Mice exposed to cell phone-level RF radiation developed cellular defenses against DNA damage, suggesting biological recognition of RF as a stressor.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed mice to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for up to 14 days, then tested DNA damage from high-dose radiation. Mice pre-exposed for 3+ days showed significantly less DNA damage, suggesting low-level RF exposure may help cells resist radiation damage.

Why This Matters

This study reveals a fascinating biological phenomenon that complicates our understanding of RF radiation effects. The research demonstrates that exposure to 900 MHz radiation at 120 µW/cm² - a level comparable to what you might experience from a cell phone during a call - can actually trigger protective cellular mechanisms. However, this 'adaptive response' shouldn't be interpreted as proof that RF radiation is beneficial. The reality is that this protective effect only emerged after multiple days of 4-hour exposures, and it was measured against high-dose ionizing radiation, not the everyday biological stresses your cells normally face. What this means for you is that your body may be mounting defensive responses to RF exposure that we're only beginning to understand - responses that indicate your cells recognize RF as a stressor requiring adaptation.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.12 µW/m²
Source/Device
900-MHz
Exposure Duration
4 hours/day for 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 days

Exposure Context

This study used 0.12 µW/m² for radio frequency:

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: 0.12 µW/m²Extreme Concern1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit10M uW/m2Effects observed in the Slight Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 83,333,333x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

We have examined whether such AR could be induced in mice exposed to non-ionizing radiofrequency fields (RF) used for wireless communications

Mice were pre-exposed to 900 MHz RF at 120 µW/cm2 power density for 4 hours/day for 1, 3, 5, 7 and 1...

The results indicated that the extent of damage in mice which were pre-exposed to RF for 1 day and t...

Thus, the data indicated that RF pre-exposure is capable of inducing AR and suggested that the pre-exposure for more than 4 hours for 1 day is necessary to elicit such AR.

Cite This Study
Jiang B, Nie J, Zhou Z, Zhang J, Tong J, Cao Y. (2012). Adaptive response in mice exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields: primary DNA damage. PLoS One. 7(2):e32040, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{b_2012_adaptive_response_in_mice_757,
  author = {Jiang B and Nie J and Zhou Z and Zhang J and Tong J and Cao Y.},
  title = {Adaptive response in mice exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields: primary DNA damage.},
  year = {2012},
  
  url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032040},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed mice to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for up to 14 days, then tested DNA damage from high-dose radiation. Mice pre-exposed for 3+ days showed significantly less DNA damage, suggesting low-level RF exposure may help cells resist radiation damage.