Testicular apoptosis and histopathological changes induced by a 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field.
Saygin M, Caliskan S, Karahan N, Koyu A, Gumral N, Uguz A · 2011
View Original AbstractWiFi-frequency radiation damaged sperm production and killed testicular cells in rats after just 28 days of one-hour daily exposures.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed male rats to WiFi-frequency radiation (2.45 GHz) for one hour daily over 28 days and found significant damage to sperm-producing cells in the testicles. The radiation reduced the number of hormone-producing Leydig cells, impaired sperm production quality, and triggered programmed cell death (apoptosis) in testicular tissue. This suggests that common wireless frequencies could potentially affect male fertility through cellular damage in reproductive organs.
Why This Matters
This study adds to mounting evidence that radiofrequency radiation at everyday frequencies can damage male reproductive function. The 2.45 GHz frequency used here is identical to WiFi and microwave ovens, making these findings directly relevant to modern life. The exposure level of 3.21 W/kg is higher than typical phone use but within range of close-proximity WiFi devices. What makes this research particularly concerning is that it found cellular damage even with relatively brief daily exposures over just four weeks. The researchers identified specific mechanisms of harm, including reduced hormone-producing cells and increased programmed cell death in sperm-producing tissue. While this was an animal study, the biological processes involved are similar in humans, and the evidence continues building that our wireless world may be compromising male fertility in ways we're only beginning to understand.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 3.21 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 2.45 GHz
- Exposure Duration
- 60 minutes/ day for 28 days
Exposure Context
This study used 3.21 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 8x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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
There is a growing public concern about the potential human health hazard caused by exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR). The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of 2450 mhz electromagnetic field on apoptosis and histopathological changes on rat testis tissue.
Twelve-week-old male Wistar Albino rats were used in this study. Eighteen rats equally divided into ...
There was no difference among the groups for the diameter of the seminiferous tubules, pyknotic, kar...
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2011_testicular_apoptosis_and_histopathological_1311,
author = {Saygin M and Caliskan S and Karahan N and Koyu A and Gumral N and Uguz A},
title = {Testicular apoptosis and histopathological changes induced by a 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field.},
year = {2011},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21310776/},
}