Effects of ELF-EMF on brain proteins in mice.
Strasák L, Bártová E, Krejci J, Fojt L, Vetterl V. · 2009
View Original AbstractFour days of magnetic field exposure reduced stress-response proteins in mouse brains, showing EMF triggers measurable biological changes.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed laboratory mice to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (50 Hz at 2 milliTesla) for four days and measured changes in brain proteins. They found that exposure decreased levels of c-Jun, a protein involved in cellular stress responses and gene regulation, while another protein (c-Fos) remained unchanged. This suggests that even short-term exposure to magnetic fields can alter brain biochemistry at the cellular level.
Why This Matters
This study adds to mounting evidence that ELF magnetic fields can trigger biological changes in brain tissue. The 2 milliTesla exposure level used here is significantly higher than typical household exposures (which range from 0.01 to 0.2 milliTesla near appliances), but it's within the range of occupational exposures for electrical workers and people living near power lines. What makes this research particularly noteworthy is that changes occurred after just four days of exposure. The c-Jun protein plays important roles in cellular stress responses and gene expression, so its reduction could indicate the brain is responding to EMF as a biological stressor. While we can't directly extrapolate mouse studies to humans, this research demonstrates that magnetic fields aren't biologically inert as industry often claims. The science shows our bodies do respond to these exposures, even if we don't immediately feel the effects.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 2 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 4 days
Exposure Context
This study used 2 mG for magnetic fields:
- 100Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 20Kx 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
Effect of electromagnetic low frequency fields was studied on mice.
We analyzed level of protein in brain of mouse. The levels of c-Jun and c-Fos in brains were measure...
The expression of c-Fos was not affected by magnetic field on the other hand the expression of c-Jun...
The results did not depend on sex of mice.
Show BibTeX
@article{l_2009_effects_of_elfemf_on_718,
author = {Strasák L and Bártová E and Krejci J and Fojt L and Vetterl V.},
title = {Effects of ELF-EMF on brain proteins in mice.},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1080/15368370802711870},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15368370802711870},
}