Electromagnetic fields at a mobile phone frequency (900 MHz) trigger the onset of general stress response along with DNA modifications in Eisenia fetida earthworms.
Bourdineaud JP, Šrut M, Štambuk A, Tkalec M, Brèthes D, Malarić K, Klobučar GIV. · 2017
View Original AbstractEven extremely low cell phone radiation caused lasting DNA damage in earthworms, persisting 24 hours after just two hours of exposure.
Plain English Summary
Scientists exposed earthworms to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for two hours at levels far below safety limits. The worms showed DNA damage and stress responses that lasted over 24 hours after exposure ended, suggesting even brief, low-level mobile phone frequencies cause lasting biological harm.
Why This Matters
This study delivers a sobering message about the biological impact of mobile phone radiation. The researchers found DNA modifications and stress responses in earthworms exposed to 900 MHz radiation at levels thousands of times lower than current safety standards allow. What makes this particularly concerning is that the effects persisted 24 hours after just a two-hour exposure, indicating the damage doesn't simply disappear when the radiation stops. While earthworms aren't humans, they share fundamental cellular processes with us, and their widespread use in toxicology research reflects their biological relevance. The fact that such low-level exposures - comparable to what you might experience from a cell phone several feet away - can trigger genetic stress responses challenges the industry narrative that current safety limits are protective. This adds to a growing body of evidence showing biological effects well below thermal thresholds.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.00013, 0.00933 W/kg
- Electric Field
- 10 - 120 V/m
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- Two hours
Exposure Context
This study used 10 - 120 V/m for electric fields:
- 33.3x 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.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Electromagnetic fields at a mobile phone frequency (900 MHz) trigger the onset of general stress response along with DNA modifications in Eisenia fetida earthworms.
Eisenia fetida earthworms were exposed to electromagnetic field (EMF) at a mobile phone frequency (9...
All exposure treatments induced significant DNA modifications as assessed by a quantitative random a...
Show BibTeX
@article{jp_2017_electromagnetic_fields_at_a_875,
author = {Bourdineaud JP and Šrut M and Štambuk A and Tkalec M and Brèthes D and Malarić K and Klobučar GIV.},
title = {Electromagnetic fields at a mobile phone frequency (900 MHz) trigger the onset of general stress response along with DNA modifications in Eisenia fetida earthworms.},
year = {2017},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28665795/},
}