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Brain & Nervous System

No influence of acute RF exposure (GSM-900, GSM-1800, and UMTS) on mouse retinal ganglion cell responses under constant temperature conditions

No Effects Found

Ahlers MT, Ammermüller J · 2013

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Mouse eye cells showed no response changes from cell phone radiation up to 10 times typical exposure levels.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

German researchers exposed isolated mouse retinal tissue to cell phone radiation at various power levels (including some 10 times higher than typical phone use) to see if it affected eye cells that help process vision. They found no changes in how these retinal ganglion cells responded to light, even at the highest radiation levels tested. The study was carefully controlled to eliminate temperature effects, focusing only on potential non-thermal impacts of RF radiation on eye function.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: GSM‐900, GSM‐1800, UMTS Mobile Phones

Study Details

Possible non‐thermal effects of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF‐EMF) on retinal ganglion cells were studied in vitro under conditions of constant temperature.

Possible non‐thermal effects of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF‐EMF) on retinal ganglion ...

Some changes already occurred during sham (0 W/kg) exposure, reflecting the intrinsic variability in...

From these results we conclude that RF‐EMF exposure at three mobile phone frequencies (GSM‐900, GSM‐1800, UMTS) and SARs up to 20 W/kg has no acute effects on retinal ganglion cell responses under constant temperature conditions.

Cite This Study
Ahlers MT, Ammermüller J (2013). No influence of acute RF exposure (GSM-900, GSM-1800, and UMTS) on mouse retinal ganglion cell responses under constant temperature conditions Bioelectromagnetics. 2013 Sep 21. doi: 10.1002/bem.21811.
Show BibTeX
@article{mt_2013_no_influence_of_acute_2733,
  author = {Ahlers MT and Ammermüller J},
  title = {No influence of acute RF exposure (GSM-900, GSM-1800, and UMTS) on mouse retinal ganglion cell responses under constant temperature conditions},
  year = {2013},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.21811},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.21811},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.21811

Cited By (11 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

German researchers found no damage to mouse retinal ganglion cells from GSM-900, GSM-1800, and UMTS radiation at power levels up to 20 W/kg (10 times higher than typical phone use). The study carefully controlled for temperature effects and found no changes in how these vision-processing cells responded to light.
A 2013 study exposed mouse retinal tissue to GSM-900, GSM-1800, and UMTS radiation at levels up to 20 W/kg and found no effects on eye function. Even at these extremely high power levels, retinal ganglion cells that process vision showed no changes in their light responses.
Research on isolated mouse retinal tissue found no harmful effects from UMTS radiation on vision cells. The study tested various power levels including some 10 times higher than typical phone use and found no changes in retinal ganglion cell responses under controlled temperature conditions.
A controlled German study found no non-thermal effects from RF radiation on mouse retinal tissue. Researchers eliminated temperature effects and tested GSM-900, GSM-1800, and UMTS frequencies at various power levels, finding no significant changes in retinal ganglion cell responses to light.
The 2013 Ahlers study tested SAR levels up to 20 W/kg on mouse retinal tissue, which is 10 times higher than typical cell phone use. Even at these extreme exposure levels, researchers found no acute effects on retinal ganglion cell responses from GSM or UMTS radiation.