Analgetic effects of non-thermal GSM-1900 radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the land snail Helix pomatia.
Nittby H, Moghadam MK, Sun W, Malmgren L, Eberhardt J, Persson BR, Salford LG · 2012
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation altered pain sensitivity in snails at exposure levels similar to typical phone use, suggesting EMF can affect nervous system function.
Plain English Summary
Swedish researchers exposed land snails to cell phone radiation at 1900 MHz (the same frequency used by many mobile phones) for one hour, then tested their response to painful heat. The radiation-exposed snails showed significantly reduced sensitivity to pain compared to unexposed snails, suggesting the electromagnetic fields had an anesthetic-like effect on their nervous systems.
Why This Matters
This study reveals something remarkable: radiofrequency radiation at levels similar to cell phone emissions can alter pain perception in living organisms. The exposure level of 48 milliwatts per kilogram is well within the range of what your body absorbs during typical cell phone use. While snails may seem far removed from human health concerns, their nervous systems share fundamental biological processes with ours. The finding that RF radiation can modify pain sensitivity raises important questions about how these fields might be affecting our own neurological functions in ways we haven't yet recognized. The reality is that if electromagnetic fields can measurably alter nervous system responses in one species, we should take seriously the possibility they're doing the same in humans.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.000 2 mG
- SAR
- 0.048 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.068 µW/m²
- Electric Field
- 16 V/m
- Source/Device
- 1900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 1 h
Exposure Context
This study used 0.068 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 6.8Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 113.3Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
This study used 16 V/m for electric fields:
- 53.3x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
This study used 0.000 2 mG for magnetic fields:
- 10x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 2x above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
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 investigate whether mobile phone radiation might affect snail nociception, employing radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) which, to our knowledge, have hitherto not been studied in a snail model. Exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields has however been shown to significantly affect nociceptive responses.
In the present study, we exposed 29 land snails of the strain Helix pomatia to global system for mob...
Comparing the reaction pattern of each snail before and after exposure, the GSM-exposed snails were ...
This study might support earlier findings, describing beneficial effects of EMF exposure upon nociception.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2012_analgetic_effects_of_nonthermal_160,
author = {Nittby H and Moghadam MK and Sun W and Malmgren L and Eberhardt J and Persson BR and Salford LG},
title = {Analgetic effects of non-thermal GSM-1900 radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the land snail Helix pomatia.},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.3109/09553002.2012.644257},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553002.2012.644257},
}