GSM 900 MHz radiation inhibits ants' association between food sites and encountered cues
Cammaerts MC, De Doncker P, Patris X, Bellens F, Rachidi Z, Cammaerts D · 2012
View Original AbstractGSM radiation completely blocked memory formation in ants and accelerated memory loss, raising concerns about impacts on pollinators.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed ant colonies to cell phone radiation (GSM 900 MHz) for 102 hours and found the ants completely lost their ability to learn and remember connections between food sources and visual or scent cues, suggesting radiofrequency radiation significantly impairs memory formation.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that radiofrequency radiation at levels similar to those around cell towers can severely disrupt cognitive function in living organisms. While conducted on ants, the findings are particularly concerning because the exposure levels used were extremely low - far below what regulatory agencies consider harmful. The complete elimination of memory formation and the accelerated memory loss when re-exposed suggests that even brief encounters with RF radiation can have lasting neurological impacts. What makes this research especially relevant is that bees and other pollinating insects rely on the same types of visual and olfactory memory systems that were disrupted in these ants. The potential implications for pollinator populations and ecosystem stability deserve serious consideration, especially given the widespread deployment of wireless infrastructure.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.0000795 µW/m²
- Electric Field
- 1 V/m
- Source/Device
- GSM 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 102 hours
Exposure Context
This study used 0.0000795 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 7.9Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 132.5x above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
This study used 1 V/m for electric fields:
- 3.3x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
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
To examine the effect of GSM 900 MHz exposure on the ants' association between food sites and olfactory and visual cues
The kinetics of the acquisition and loss of the use of olfactory and visual cues were previously obt...
In this situation, no association between food and either olfactory or visual cues occurred. After a...
These communication waves may have such a disastrous impact on a wide range of insects using olfactory and/or visual memory, i.e., on bees
Show BibTeX
@article{mc_2012_gsm_900_mhz_radiation_75,
author = {Cammaerts MC and De Doncker P and Patris X and Bellens F and Rachidi Z and Cammaerts D},
title = {GSM 900 MHz radiation inhibits ants' association between food sites and encountered cues},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.3109/15368378.2011.624661},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368378.2011.624661},
}