The genotoxic effect of radiofrequency waves on mouse brain.
Karaca E, Durmaz B, Aktug H, Yildiz T, Guducu C, Irgi M, Koksal MG, Ozkinay F, Gunduz C, Cogulu O. · 2012
View Original AbstractMouse brain cells showed 11-fold DNA damage increase from RF radiation at 0.725 W/kg, below current cell phone safety limits.
Plain English Summary
Turkish researchers exposed mouse brain cells to radiofrequency radiation at 10.715 GHz (similar to cell phone frequencies) for 6 hours daily over 3 days. They found an 11-fold increase in DNA damage markers and significant changes in gene expression related to cell death. This suggests that RF radiation at levels comparable to wireless devices can directly damage brain cell DNA and disrupt normal cellular functions.
Why This Matters
This study provides direct evidence that radiofrequency radiation can cause DNA damage in brain cells at exposure levels within range of everyday wireless devices. The 11-fold increase in micronucleus formation - a well-established marker of genetic damage - is particularly concerning because it occurred at a specific absorption rate of 0.725 W/kg, which is below the current FCC safety limit of 1.6 W/kg for cell phones. What makes this research especially significant is that it examined both DNA damage and gene expression changes simultaneously, showing that RF exposure doesn't just break DNA strands but also disrupts the cellular machinery that normally protects against such damage. The 7-fold decrease in STAT3 expression is notable because this gene plays a crucial role in cellular survival and DNA repair mechanisms. While this was an in vitro study using mouse cells, it adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that current safety standards may not adequately protect against biological effects at the cellular level.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.725 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.84 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 10.715 GHz
- Exposure Duration
- continuously for 6 h per day for 3 days
Exposure Context
This study used 0.84 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 84Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 1.4Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
This study used 0.725 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 1.8x 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
The aim of this study is to evaluate the genotoxic effects of RF waves in an experimental brain cell culture model.
Brain cell cultures of the mice were exposed to 10.715 GHz with specific absorbtion rate (SAR) 0.725...
It was found that MNi rate increased 11-fold and STAT3 expression decreased 7-fold in the cell cultu...
Cell phones which spread RF may damage DNA and change gene expression in brain cells.
Show BibTeX
@article{e_2012_the_genotoxic_effect_of_114,
author = {Karaca E and Durmaz B and Aktug H and Yildiz T and Guducu C and Irgi M and Koksal MG and Ozkinay F and Gunduz C and Cogulu O. },
title = {The genotoxic effect of radiofrequency waves on mouse brain.},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1007/s11060-011-0644-z},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-011-0644-z},
}