Effect of gsm 900-mhz mobile phone radiation on the reproductive capacity of drosophila melanogaster.
Panagopoulos DJ, Karabarbounis A, Margaritis LH · 2004
View Original AbstractSix minutes of daily cell phone radiation reduced fruit fly reproduction by 50-60%, suggesting reproductive risks from everyday phone use.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed fruit flies to GSM mobile phone radiation at 900 MHz for just 6 minutes daily during their early adult lives. They found that phone radiation dramatically reduced the flies' ability to reproduce - by 50-60% when the phone was actively transmitting voice calls, and by 15-20% even when just connected but not in use. This suggests that the radiofrequency fields from cell phones can interfere with the cellular processes needed for healthy reproductive organ development.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how cell phone radiation affects reproductive health, even at brief exposure durations. The dramatic 50-60% reduction in reproductive capacity from just 6 minutes of daily exposure is particularly striking - and remember, most people carry their phones much closer to their bodies for far longer periods each day. What makes this research especially valuable is that it used real GSM phones rather than laboratory signal generators, meaning the exposure more closely mimics what we experience in daily life. The finding that voice-modulated signals caused three times more damage than unmodulated signals also suggests that the complex, pulsed nature of modern wireless communications may be more biologically disruptive than simple continuous wave radiation.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: GSM 900-MHz Mobile Phone Duration: 6 min/day for 2-5 days
Study Details
To study the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic irradiation at 900 MHz, emitted by GSM mobile phones on reproductive capacity of the insect Drosophila melanogaster.
The insects were exposed to the near field of the mobile phone antenna for 6 min per day during the ...
Pulsed radio frequency, (RF), electromagnetic radiation from common GSM mobile phones, (Global Syste...
The GSM field is found to affect both females and males. Our results suggest that this field-radiation decreases the rate of cellular processes during gonad development in insects.
Show BibTeX
@article{dj_2004_effect_of_gsm_900mhz_2505,
author = {Panagopoulos DJ and Karabarbounis A and Margaritis LH},
title = {Effect of gsm 900-mhz mobile phone radiation on the reproductive capacity of drosophila melanogaster.},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1081/JBC-120039350},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1081/JBC-120039350},
}