The effects of radiofrequency fields on cell proliferation are non-thermal.
Velizarov, S, Raskmark, P, Kwee, S, · 1999
View Original AbstractRadiofrequency radiation alters cell growth through non-thermal mechanisms, challenging the heating-only assumptions behind current wireless safety standards.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed cells to 960 MHz radiofrequency radiation (similar to cell phone signals) at different temperatures to test whether heat alone causes biological effects. They found that RF radiation altered cell growth patterns at both higher and lower temperatures, proving that the effects weren't simply due to heating. This challenges the mainstream assumption that only thermal effects from wireless radiation can impact living cells.
Why This Matters
This study strikes at the heart of wireless safety standards, which are based entirely on preventing tissue heating. The researchers used GSM signals at 960 MHz and demonstrated that RF radiation affects cell proliferation regardless of temperature changes. What makes this particularly significant is that it directly contradicts the thermal-only theory that underlies current exposure limits from the FCC and other regulatory bodies. The fact that cellular changes occurred at the same magnitude across different temperatures suggests that non-thermal biological mechanisms are at work. This adds to a growing body of evidence showing that our current safety standards, which only account for heating effects, may be inadequate to protect public health from the biological impacts of wireless technology.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 960 MHz
Study Details
One of the current theories is that heat generation by RF/MW is the cause, in spite of the fact that a great number of studies under isothermal conditions have reported significant cellular changes after exposure to RF/MW. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate which effect MW radiation from these fields in combination with a significant change of temperature could have on cell proliferation.
The experiments were performed on the same cell line, and with the same exposure system as in a prev...
The results showed that there was a significant change in cell proliferation in the exposed cells in...
This shows that biological effects due to RF/MW cannot be attributed only to a change of temperature. Since the RF/MW induced changes were of the same order of magnitude at both temperatures and also comparable to our previous results under isothermal conditions at 37 degrees C, cellular stress caused by electromagnetic fields could initiate the changes in cell cycle reaction rates. It is widely accepted that certain classes of heat-shock proteins are involved in these stress reactions.
Show BibTeX
@article{velizarov_1999_the_effects_of_radiofrequency_2655,
author = {Velizarov and S and Raskmark and P and Kwee and S and},
title = {The effects of radiofrequency fields on cell proliferation are non-thermal.},
year = {1999},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10228585/},
}