Exposure to 1800 MHz radiofrequency radiation induces oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA in primary cultured neurons
Xu S, Zhou Z, Zhang L, Yu Z, Zhang W, Wang Y, Wang X, Li M, Chen Y, Chen C, He M, Zhang G, Zhong M. · 2010
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation damaged brain cell DNA at exposure levels similar to heavy phone use, but antioxidants prevented the harm.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed brain neurons to cell phone-frequency radiation (1800 MHz) at levels similar to heavy phone use and found it damaged the DNA inside cellular powerhouses called mitochondria. The radiation increased markers of DNA damage by 24 hours and reduced the neurons' ability to produce energy. Importantly, the antioxidant melatonin completely prevented this damage, suggesting oxidative stress was the underlying cause.
Why This Matters
This study provides direct evidence that radiofrequency radiation can damage the genetic material inside our neurons' mitochondria - the cellular structures responsible for energy production. The exposure level used (2 W/kg SAR) falls within the range of heavy cell phone use, making these findings directly relevant to everyday exposure scenarios. What makes this research particularly compelling is the mechanistic insight: the fact that melatonin prevented the damage confirms that oxidative stress is driving these effects. The science demonstrates that RF radiation doesn't just heat tissue - it triggers biochemical processes that can harm the very DNA responsible for cellular energy production. This adds to a growing body of evidence showing that current safety standards, which only consider heating effects, may be inadequate to protect neurological health.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 1800 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 24 hr
Exposure Context
This study used 2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 5x 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
The purpose of this study was to determine whether radiofrequency radiation can cause oxidative damage to mtDNA.
In this study, we exposed primary cultured cortical neurons to pulsed RF electromagnetic fields at a...
At 24 h after exposure, we found that RF radiation induced a significant increase in the levels of 8...
Together, these results suggested that 1800 MHz RF radiation could cause oxidative damage to mtDNA in primary cultured neurons. Oxidative damage to mtDNA may account for the neurotoxicity of RF radiation in the brain.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2010_exposure_to_1800_mhz_205,
author = {Xu S and Zhou Z and Zhang L and Yu Z and Zhang W and Wang Y and Wang X and Li M and Chen Y and Chen C and He M and Zhang G and Zhong M.},
title = {Exposure to 1800 MHz radiofrequency radiation induces oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA in primary cultured neurons},
year = {2010},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006899309022999},
}