3,138 Studies Reviewed. 77.4% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.

Selenium Reduces Mobile Phone (900 MHz)-Induced Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Function, and Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells.

Bioeffects Seen

Kahya MC, Nazıroğlu M, Ciğ B. · 2014

View Original Abstract
Share:

Mobile phone radiation at typical use levels caused cancer cell death through oxidative stress, but selenium supplementation provided significant protection.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed breast cancer cells to 900 MHz mobile phone radiation (at levels similar to typical phone use) for one hour and found it triggered cell death through oxidative stress and damaged cellular energy centers called mitochondria. However, when cells were pre-treated with selenium (an antioxidant mineral), these harmful effects were significantly reduced. This suggests that certain nutrients might help protect cells from EMF-induced damage.

Why This Matters

This study adds to the growing body of evidence that mobile phone radiation can cause cellular damage even at exposure levels considered 'safe' by current standards. The SAR level used (0.36 W/kg) falls well within the range of typical mobile phone emissions, making these findings directly relevant to everyday use. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates a potential protective mechanism through selenium supplementation. The science demonstrates that EMF exposure triggers a cascade of cellular damage starting with oxidative stress and progressing to mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. While this was conducted on cancer cells in a laboratory setting, the biological pathways affected are fundamental to all cellular health. The reality is that our regulatory agencies continue to rely on heating-based safety standards that ignore these non-thermal biological effects entirely.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.36 ± 0.02 W/kg
Source/Device
900 MHz
Exposure Duration
1 hour

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.36 ± 0.02 W/kgExtreme Concern0.1 W/kgFCC Limit1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Severe Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 80x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of 900 MHz radiation on the antioxidant redox system, apoptosis, and mitochondrial depolarization levels in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line.

Cultures of the cancer cells were divided into four main groups as controls, selenium, EMR, and EMR ...

Selenium suppressed EMR-induced oxidative cell damage and cell viability (MTT) through a reduction o...

In conclusion, 900 MHz EMR appears to induce apoptosis effects through oxidative stress and mitochondrial depolarization although incubation of selenium seems to counteract the effects on apoptosis and oxidative stress.

Cite This Study
Kahya MC, Nazıroğlu M, Ciğ B. (2014). Selenium Reduces Mobile Phone (900 MHz)-Induced Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Function, and Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2014 Jun 27.
Show BibTeX
@article{mc_2014_selenium_reduces_mobile_phone_1086,
  author = {Kahya MC and Nazıroğlu M and Ciğ B.},
  title = {Selenium Reduces Mobile Phone (900 MHz)-Induced Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Function, and Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells.},
  year = {2014},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24965080/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed breast cancer cells to 900 MHz mobile phone radiation (at levels similar to typical phone use) for one hour and found it triggered cell death through oxidative stress and damaged cellular energy centers called mitochondria. However, when cells were pre-treated with selenium (an antioxidant mineral), these harmful effects were significantly reduced. This suggests that certain nutrients might help protect cells from EMF-induced damage.