The relationship between colony-forming ability, chromosome aberrations and incidence of micronuclei in V79 Chinese hamster cells exposed to microwave radiation.
Garaj-Vrhovac V, Horvat D, Koren Z · 1991
View Original AbstractMicrowave radiation at 0.5 mW/cm² caused significant chromosome damage in living cells, suggesting DNA harm can occur at everyday wireless device exposure levels.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed hamster cells to microwave radiation at 7.7 GHz (similar to frequencies used in radar and some wireless devices) for 15, 30, and 60 minutes. They found significant damage to the cells' chromosomes, including broken and ring-shaped chromosomes that are hallmarks of genetic damage. This suggests that microwave radiation can directly damage DNA structure in living cells.
Why This Matters
This study provides direct evidence that microwave radiation can cause chromosomal damage in living cells, adding to the growing body of research showing biological effects from non-ionizing radiation. The 0.5 mW/cm² exposure level used here is actually lower than what you might experience from some wireless devices held close to your body. What makes this research particularly significant is that it measured specific types of chromosome damage (dicentric and ring chromosomes) that are considered reliable indicators of radiation-induced genetic harm. The science demonstrates that cells don't need to be heated to suffer DNA damage from microwave exposure. While this was a laboratory study using hamster cells rather than human subjects, the fundamental DNA damage mechanisms are similar across mammalian species, making these findings relevant to human health concerns.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.5 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 7.7 GHz continuous radiation
- Exposure Duration
- 15, 30 and 60 min
Exposure Context
This study used 0.5 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 50Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 833.3Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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 study the relationship between colony-forming ability, chromosome aberrations and incidence of micronuclei in V79 Chinese hamster cells exposed to microwave radiation.
Cultured V79 Chinese hamster fibroblast cells were exposed to continuous radiation, frequency 7.7 GH...
In comparison with the control samples there was a significantly higher frequency of specific chromo...
Show BibTeX
@article{v_1991_the_relationship_between_colonyforming_56,
author = {Garaj-Vrhovac V and Horvat D and Koren Z},
title = {The relationship between colony-forming ability, chromosome aberrations and incidence of micronuclei in V79 Chinese hamster cells exposed to microwave radiation.},
year = {1991},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0165799291900548},
}