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The response of human bacteria to static magnetic field and radiofrequency electromagnetic field.

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Crabtree DPE, Herrera BJ, Kang S. · 2017

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Cell phone radiation disrupts beneficial skin bacteria, potentially affecting health through the crucial human-microbiome relationship.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers at Baylor University exposed bacteria from human skin to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (the type emitted by cell phones) and found that these exposures altered bacterial growth patterns. The study tested both laboratory bacteria and skin bacteria samples from people with different cell phone usage histories, finding variable but consistent disruption across different bacterial species. This suggests that cell phone radiation may be disrupting the beneficial bacteria that naturally live on our skin, potentially affecting human health through this disrupted relationship.

Why This Matters

This research opens an important new avenue in EMF health research by examining how radiofrequency radiation affects the human microbiome. Your skin hosts trillions of beneficial bacteria that play crucial roles in immune function, wound healing, and protection against pathogens. The science demonstrates that cell phone-level RF exposures can disrupt these bacterial communities, which could have cascading effects on your health that we're only beginning to understand. What makes this study particularly compelling is that the researchers found disruption in skin bacteria samples from actual cell phone users, not just laboratory cultures. This suggests real-world relevance to the billions of people carrying these devices daily. While this is early-stage research that needs replication, it highlights yet another pathway through which EMF exposure may affect human health - one that the wireless industry has never studied in their safety assessments.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate The response of human bacteria to static magnetic field and radiofrequency electromagnetic field.

we investigated the response of both laboratory culture strains and isolates of skin bacteria under ...

The growth patterns of laboratory cultures of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylo...

These findings led us to hypothesize that cell phone level RF-EMF disrupts human skin microbiota. Thus, the results from the current study lay ground for more comprehensive research on the effect of RF-EMF on human health through the human-microbiota relationship.

Cite This Study
Crabtree DPE, Herrera BJ, Kang S. (2017). The response of human bacteria to static magnetic field and radiofrequency electromagnetic field. J Microbiol. 55(10):809-815,2017.
Show BibTeX
@article{dpe_2017_the_response_of_human_1998,
  author = {Crabtree DPE and Herrera BJ and Kang S.},
  title = {The response of human bacteria to static magnetic field and radiofrequency electromagnetic field.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28956351/},
}
PubMed: 28956351

Cited By (15 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, a 2017 Baylor University study found that cell phone radiation altered the growth patterns of bacteria naturally living on human skin. The researchers exposed both laboratory bacteria and skin bacteria samples to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, finding consistent disruption across different bacterial species that could potentially impact human health.
Research suggests it can. The Baylor study showed that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from cell phones changed how beneficial skin bacteria grow and behave. This disruption of the natural bacterial balance on your skin could affect your body's protective microbiome, though more research is needed to understand the full health implications.
Cell phone EMF may indirectly affect immune function by disrupting skin bacteria. The 2017 study found that cell phone radiation altered bacterial growth patterns on human skin, potentially affecting the microbiome that helps protect against infections. However, researchers called for more comprehensive studies to understand the complete health impact.
RF radiation appears to disrupt normal skin microbiota growth patterns. Baylor researchers found that exposure to cell phone-level radiofrequency fields caused variable but consistent changes in how skin bacteria behaved, including common species like E. coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The disruption varied between bacterial species and individuals.
The health risks remain unclear but concerning. While the Baylor study confirmed that cell phone radiation disrupts skin bacteria, researchers haven't yet determined what this means for human health. The disrupted bacteria-human relationship could potentially affect immune function, infection resistance, or other protective mechanisms your skin microbiome normally provides.