SIMS study of the calcium-deprivation step related to epidermal meristem production induced in flax by cold shock or radiation from a GSM telephone.
Tafforeau M, Verdus M-C, Norris V, White G, Demarty M, Thellier M, Ripoll C · 2002
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at 0.9 GHz caused the same stress response in plants as cold shock, demonstrating biological effects at non-thermal levels.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed flax plants to radiation from a GSM cell phone at 0.9 GHz for 2 hours and found it triggered the same biological response as cold stress - the formation of new tissue growth structures called epidermal meristems. The study also revealed that this response involves changes in calcium and other essential minerals within the plant tissues. This demonstrates that even non-thermal levels of cell phone radiation can cause measurable biological effects in living organisms.
Why This Matters
This research matters because it demonstrates that cell phone radiation at non-thermal levels can trigger biological responses in living systems - a finding that challenges the industry's position that only heating effects matter. The 0.9 GHz frequency used is nearly identical to frequencies used by modern cell phones (which operate around 0.8-2.1 GHz), making these results directly relevant to everyday exposures. What makes this study particularly significant is that the researchers found EMF exposure produced the same biological response as established environmental stressors like cold shock, suggesting that organisms may recognize RF radiation as a form of stress. The fact that this response involved changes in calcium distribution is especially noteworthy, as calcium plays crucial roles in cellular communication and function across all life forms, including humans.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 0.9 GHz Duration: 2 h
Study Details
Exposing seedlings of the flax, Linum usitatissimum L., to a variety of weak environmental stresses plus a 2-day calcium deprivation triggers the common response of production of epidermal meristems in the hypocotyl. Here, we show that the same response was induced by a 1 min cold shock.
Epidermal meristem production was also induced by a single 2-h exposure to radiation emitted at 0.9 ...
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2002_sims_study_of_the_2614,
author = {Tafforeau M and Verdus M-C and Norris V and White G and Demarty M and Thellier M and Ripoll C},
title = {SIMS study of the calcium-deprivation step related to epidermal meristem production induced in flax by cold shock or radiation from a GSM telephone.},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1081/TMA-120015622},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1081/TMA-120015622},
}