Plasma thyroid hormones and corticosterone levels in blood of chicken embryos and post hatch chickens exposed during incubation to 1800 MHz electromagnetic field.
Pawlak K, Sechman A, Nieckarz Z. · 2014
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation disrupted critical thyroid and stress hormones in developing chick embryos at exposure levels similar to everyday wireless use.
Plain English Summary
Polish researchers exposed chicken embryos to cell phone radiation (1800 MHz) during their development and measured hormone levels in their blood. They found that the radiation disrupted the thyroid system, reducing important thyroid hormones while increasing stress hormones in the embryos and newly hatched chicks. This suggests that exposure to wireless radiation during critical developmental periods can interfere with the hormone systems that control growth and metabolism.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how wireless radiation affects developing organisms during their most vulnerable stages. The researchers used 1800 MHz radiation at 0.1 W/m², which is within the range of everyday cell phone exposures, yet found significant disruption to both thyroid and stress hormone systems in developing chicks. What makes this research particularly concerning is that the effects were most pronounced in newly hatched chicks, suggesting a cumulative impact over the development period. The fact that hormone levels normalized by slaughter age (42 days) might seem reassuring, but it actually raises questions about what compensatory mechanisms had to kick in and what the long-term costs of that early disruption might be. For humans, this research reinforces the importance of minimizing wireless radiation exposure during pregnancy and early childhood, when hormone systems are establishing the foundation for lifelong health.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.01 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 1800 MHz EMF
- Exposure Duration
- 24 h for 4 min
Exposure Context
This study used 0.01 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 1Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 16.7Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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
This study attempted to determine the effect of a 1800 MHz electromagnetic field (EMF) (only carrier frequency) on thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and corticosterone (CORT) concentrations in the blood plasma of chick embryos, and to investigate the effect of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure during embryogenesis on the level of these hormones in birds that are ready for slaughter.
Throughout the incubation period, embryos from the experimental group were exposed to a 1800 MHz EM...
The experiment showed that T4 and T3 concentrations decreased markedly and CORT levels increased in...
The obtained results suggest that additional 1800 MHz radio frequency electromagnetic field inhibits function of HPT axis, however, it stimulates hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis by inducing adrenal steroidogenic cells to synthesize corticosterone. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which radio EMFs affect HPT and HPA axis function in the chicken embryos.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2014_plasma_thyroid_hormones_and_1263,
author = {Pawlak K and Sechman A and Nieckarz Z.},
title = {Plasma thyroid hormones and corticosterone levels in blood of chicken embryos and post hatch chickens exposed during incubation to 1800 MHz electromagnetic field.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24488772/},
}