Effect of isothermal radiofrequency radiation on cytolytic T lymphocytes.
Cleary, SF, Du, Z, Cao, G, Liu, LM, McCrady, C · 1996
View Original AbstractRF radiation at microwave frequencies directly suppresses immune cell function independent of heating effects, suggesting wireless devices may compromise immunity.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed immune cells called T lymphocytes to 2.45 GHz radiofrequency radiation (the same frequency used in microwave ovens and WiFi) for 24 hours. They found that high-intensity RF exposure significantly reduced the cells' ability to multiply and function properly, while lower intensities caused initial stimulation followed by suppression. The effects were not simply due to heating, suggesting RF radiation directly interferes with immune cell function.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that RF radiation can disrupt immune system function at the cellular level. The researchers used 2.45 GHz radiation, the same frequency found in microwave ovens, WiFi routers, and many wireless devices. What makes this research particularly significant is that the scientists ruled out heating effects, demonstrating that RF radiation has direct biological impacts on immune cells beyond just warming tissue. The fact that even lower-intensity exposures caused delayed suppression of immune cell proliferation suggests that our wireless devices may be subtly compromising immune function over time. While the exposure levels in this study were higher than typical consumer device emissions, the dose-dependent response pattern raises important questions about cumulative effects from our increasingly wireless world.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 25 W/kg
- Electric Field
- 98.4 V/m
- Source/Device
- 2450 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 24 hours
Exposure Context
This study used 98.4 V/m for electric fields:
- 328x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
This study used 25 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 62.5x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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 Details
To obtain insight regarding interaction mechanisms, we investigated effects of RF radiation exposure on interleukin 2 (IL-2) -dependent proliferation of cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLL-2)
After exposure to RF radiation in the presence or absence of IL-2 cells were cultured at various phy...
Exposure to 2450 MHz RIF radiation at specific absorption rates (SARs) of greater than 25 W/kg (indu...
Comparison of the effects of temperature elevation and RF radiation indicated significant qualitative and quantitative differences.
Show BibTeX
@article{cleary_1996_effect_of_isothermal_radiofrequency_908,
author = {Cleary and SF and Du and Z and Cao and G and Liu and LM and McCrady and C},
title = {Effect of isothermal radiofrequency radiation on cytolytic T lymphocytes.},
year = {1996},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8666169/},
}