Using medaka embryos as a model system to study biological effects of the electromagnetic fields on development and behavior
Lee W, Yang KL · 2014
View Original AbstractEMF exposure during development accelerated growth and increased anxiety in fish embryos at levels comparable to common household exposures.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed medaka fish embryos to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (3.2 kHz) throughout their development to study potential biological effects. They found that EMF exposure accelerated embryonic development and caused anxiety-like behavior in the hatched fish, with higher anxiety levels at stronger field strengths. This study provides evidence that even low-level EMF exposure during critical developmental periods can alter both physical development and behavior.
Why This Matters
This research matters because it demonstrates that EMF exposure during embryonic development can have lasting effects on both physical development and behavior. The study used magnetic field strengths ranging from 0.12 to 60 microtesla (µT), which are well within the range of everyday exposures from household appliances and power lines that typically produce fields of 1-100 µT. What makes this particularly concerning is that the effects occurred during a critical developmental window when organisms are most vulnerable to environmental influences. The finding that EMF exposure not only accelerated development but also increased anxiety-like behavior suggests these fields may be disrupting normal biological processes in ways that persist after the exposure ends. This adds to the growing body of evidence that EMF exposure, particularly during sensitive developmental periods, deserves serious consideration in public health policy.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.00012, 0.015 ,0.025 ,0.06 mG
- Source/Device
- 3.2 kHz
- Exposure Duration
- Continuously during embryonic development of medakas
Exposure Context
This study used 0.00012, 0.015 ,0.025 ,0.06 mG for magnetic fields:
- 6x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 1.2x above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
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 biological effects of the electromagnetic fields on development and behavior using medaka embryos as a model system
Medaka embryos (Oryzias latipes) have been a useful tool to study developmental toxicity in vivo due...
The results showed that embryos exposed to all three levels of the EMF developed significantly faste...
In conclusion, the EMF tested in this study accelerated embryonic development and heightened anxiety-like behavior. Our results also demonstrate that the medaka embryo is a sensitive and cost-efficient in vivo model system to study developmental toxicity of EMFs.
Show BibTeX
@article{w_2014_using_medaka_embryos_as_121,
author = {Lee W and Yang KL},
title = {Using medaka embryos as a model system to study biological effects of the electromagnetic fields on development and behavior},
year = {2014},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147651314002917},
}