Bioassay for assessing cell stress in the vicinity of radio-frequency irradiating antennas
Monselise EB, Levkovitz A, Gottlieb HE, Kost D · 2011
View Original AbstractRadio frequency radiation causes measurable cellular stress through free radical damage, even in simple water plants exposed for just 24 hours.
Plain English Summary
Israeli researchers exposed water plants (duckweed) to radio frequency radiation from AM transmitter antennas for 24 hours and measured cellular stress responses. The plants accumulated alanine, a known stress marker, in direct proportion to the radiation intensity they received. When vitamin C was added, it completely blocked this stress response, suggesting that free radicals (unstable molecules that damage cells) were involved in the process.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that radio frequency radiation causes measurable cellular stress through oxidative damage mechanisms. The fact that vitamin C completely prevented the stress response confirms that free radicals are involved - the same destructive molecules implicated in aging and disease. What makes this research particularly significant is that it used a simple, reproducible biological test that could be applied to assess EMF stress near any radio transmitter. The radiation levels tested (1.8 to 7.8 V/m) are within ranges you might encounter near AM radio towers or other high-power transmitters, though much higher than typical household exposures. This adds to the growing body of evidence showing that EMF exposure triggers oxidative stress in living systems, supporting the biological plausibility of health effects reported in human and animal studies.
Exposure Details
- Electric Field
- 7.8, 1.8 V/m
- Source/Device
- 1.287 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 24 h
Exposure Context
This study used 7.8, 1.8 V/m for electric fields:
- 6x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
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.
Study Details
The aim of this study is to observe Bioassay for assessing cell stress in the vicinity of radio-frequency irradiating antennas
The 24 h exposure of water plants (etiolated duckweed) to RF-EMF between 7.8 V m(-1) and 1.8 V m(-1)...
Resulted in alanine accumulation in the plant cells, a phenomenon we have previously shown to be a u...
This simple test, which lasts only 24 h, constitutes a useful bioassay for the quick detection of biological cell stress caused in the vicinity of RF irradiating antennas
Show BibTeX
@article{eb_2011_bioassay_for_assessing_cell_556,
author = {Monselise EB and Levkovitz A and Gottlieb HE and Kost D},
title = {Bioassay for assessing cell stress in the vicinity of radio-frequency irradiating antennas},
year = {2011},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21655615/},
}