[Effect of extremely high frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity on parameters of humoral immunity in healthy mice.]
Lushnikov KV, Gapeev AB, Sadovnikov VB, Cheremis NK. · 2001
View Original AbstractDaily millimeter wave exposure for 20 days significantly reduced immune organ cell counts in mice, even at very low power levels.
Plain English Summary
Russian researchers exposed mice to 42 GHz radiation (millimeter waves like those in 5G) at low power levels. After 20 days of daily exposure, immune organs shrank significantly - the thymus by 17.5% and spleen by 14.5%, suggesting prolonged millimeter wave exposure may weaken immune system function.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that millimeter wave frequencies, now widely deployed in 5G networks, can affect immune system organs even at extremely low power levels - just 0.15 mW/cm² (milliwatts per square centimeter). What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates a clear dose-response relationship: single exposures caused no measurable effects, but chronic daily exposure for 20 days produced statistically significant immune system changes. The thymus, which produces T-cells crucial for immune function, was especially affected.
The power levels used in this study are actually lower than what you might experience from some wireless devices, yet the chronic exposure pattern mirrors how we actually use technology - not single exposures, but daily, repeated use over weeks, months, and years. The science demonstrates that your immune system may be responding to this radiation in ways that only become apparent with sustained exposure, highlighting why we need to consider cumulative effects rather than just acute exposure limits.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.15 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 42.0 GHz
- Exposure Duration
- Once for 20 min, for 20 min daily during 5 and 20 successive days before immunization, and for 20 min daily during 5 successive days after immunization throughout the development of the humoral immune response.
Exposure Context
This study used 0.15 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 15Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 250Kx 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
The modification of indices of the humoral immune response to thymus-dependent antigen (sheep erythrocytes) after a whole-body exposure of healthy mice to low-intensity extremely-high-frequency electromagnetic radiation was studied.
Male NMRI mice were exposed in the far-field zone of horn antenna at a frequency of 42.0 GHz and ene...
The indices of humoral immunity and cellularity of lymphoid organs changed insignificantly after acu...
The results show that low-intensity extremely-high-frequency electromagnetic radiation with the frequency and energy flux density used does not influence the humoral immune response intensity in healthy mice but influences immunogenesis under multiple repeated exposures.
Show BibTeX
@article{kv_2001_effect_of_extremely_high_1169,
author = {Lushnikov KV and Gapeev AB and Sadovnikov VB and Cheremis NK.},
title = {[Effect of extremely high frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity on parameters of humoral immunity in healthy mice.]},
year = {2001},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11558390/},
}