2.45GHz radiofrequency fields alter gene expression in cultured human cells.
Lee S, Johnson D, Dunbar K, Dong H, Ge X, Kim YC, Wing C, Jayathilaka N, Emmanuel N, Zhou CQ, Gerber HL, Tseng CC, Wang SM · 2005
View Original AbstractWiFi-frequency radiation altered hundreds of genes in human cells without heating them, challenging current safety standards based solely on thermal effects.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human immune cells to 2.45 GHz radiofrequency radiation (the same frequency used in WiFi and microwave ovens) for 2-6 hours and found it altered the activity of hundreds of genes. After just 2 hours, 221 genes changed their expression patterns, increasing to 759 genes after 6 hours. Importantly, genes related to cell death increased their activity while genes controlling normal cell division decreased, and this happened without any heating effects.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that radiofrequency radiation affects cellular function at the most fundamental level - our DNA's instruction manual. The researchers used 2.45 GHz radiation, the exact frequency emitted by WiFi routers, Bluetooth devices, and microwave ovens that surround us daily. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates non-thermal effects - meaning the radiation altered gene expression without heating the cells, debunking the outdated assumption that only heating can cause biological harm. The fact that genes controlling cell death and cell division were affected raises important questions about long-term exposure consequences. While this was a laboratory study using cultured cells rather than living organisms, it adds to a growing body of research showing that our current safety standards, which only account for heating effects, may be inadequate to protect public health.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 2.45 GHz Duration: 2 hours
Study Details
We address this issue by examining whether RF fields can cause changes in gene expression.
We used the pulsed RF fields at a frequency of 2.45 GHz that is commonly used in telecommunication t...
We observed that 221 genes altered their expression after a 2-h exposure. The number of affected gen...
These results indicate that the RF fields at 2.45 GHz can alter gene expression in cultured human cells through non-thermal mechanism.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2005_245ghz_radiofrequency_fields_alter_2345,
author = {Lee S and Johnson D and Dunbar K and Dong H and Ge X and Kim YC and Wing C and Jayathilaka N and Emmanuel N and Zhou CQ and Gerber HL and Tseng CC and Wang SM},
title = {2.45GHz radiofrequency fields alter gene expression in cultured human cells.},
year = {2005},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16107253/},
}