Cell Phones- Dangerous or Not?

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For years, there has been a controversy about cell phone radiation and brain cancer.  It is know that cellular phone antennae emit radio frequency electromagnetic fields (EMR) that can penetrate between 4 to 6 cm into the brain.  And, now- there’s more news, but unfortunately no end to the controversy.

In today’s JAMA, Dr. Volkow (leading a team of eight other researchers) of NIH published a study determining the effects of cell phone use on 47 healthy subjects.  These folks were tested over the course of a year for separate 50 minute periods- both when the cell phone was turned on and the cell phone was turned off. The results indicated that increased brain activity (as manifested by an increase in glucose metabolism by 7% compared to normal) occurs where the operational cell phone antennae are contiguous to the brain. What this proves is the EMR from the cell phone does affect brain chemistry.  One should note that larger fluctuations in glucose metabolism are observed when one is thinking.  (Does this mean that the subjects were not thinking during the test????)   Moreover, this has no bearing on those folks who use earpieces.

One of the largest studies (carried out over 21 y) was under the direction of Dr. Schüz from Denmark.  This study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute involved some 420,095 subjects.   No increased cancer risk (brain tumors, neuromas, salivary gland tumors, eye tumors, leukemia, or any overall cancers) was found. This was true even for those who maintained cell phone service for more than 10 years (56,648 subjects). The WHO (World Health Organization) was also unable to establish a link between cell phone use (actually radiation) and brain cancer.

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2 thoughts on “Cell Phones- Dangerous or Not?”

    1. See, that’s THE problem. It’s NOT a matter of opinion- it’s a matter of fact. We know that – in spite of all the claims by Chicken Littles- there is no higher incidence of cancers. Now, we know that there is an increase in brain metabolism (but what that means- we don’t know) and it’s less than when we use our brains. So, is radiation from cell phones dangerous? Probably not. (After all these years of using them and testing them, we would see an increased incidence of something.) Does it affect us? Probably yes. Is it benign or slightly troublesome? We don’t know.

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