There have been several stories, small studies and talks all around about how bad cell phone radiations are, and how they can be a cause for cancers in humans. Many times, these studies were just written off for not backing themselves with long-time studies, but the recent one will raise many eyebrows.
Researchers at the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a group that works under National Institutes of Health worked for a full stretch of two years, and there were tests done on several rats. These rodents were exposed to different levels of electromagnetic radiations starting in utero. The results were not unexpected but now, there is a proper proof backing the data – these radiations were responsible for the formation of rare cancers in at least two kinds of cells in the brain and heart of these rats.
The study did have some results that raised another set of questions. Here are some points to note about the study (check the report)
- Male rats were seen with cancers, with two cell types in heart and brain affected
- Female rats were not affected by the radiation
- Rats that developed these tumors lived longer than those not exposed to these radiations
These are malignant gliomas of the brain and schwannomas of the heart are the two commonly seen tumors and they are not very common, but the occurrence in even a few controlled tests raises several questions.
During the test, radiations were signaled towards pregnant rats, and then the new-born ones till they grow up to 2 years – 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off, for 9 hours a day.
“This is by far—far and away—the most carefully done cell phone bioassay, a biological assessment. This is a classic study that is done for trying to understand cancers in humans,” says Christopher Portier, a retired head of the NTP who helped launch the study and still sometimes works for the federal government as a consultant scientist. “There will have to be a lot of work after this to assess if it causes problems in humans, but the fact that you can do it in rats will be a big issue. It actually has me concerned, and I’m an expert.” (Source: Scientific American)
To state the facts in contrast to this study, it is said that the number of cases of brain cancer has not grown in percentage when compared to 1990 when cell phones began existing.
Almost every study about cell phone radiations sparks a debate and this time, Dr. Michael Lauer of the NIH says that there is not enough information to show that the radiations were responsible for cancer. “I suspect that this experiment is substantially underpowered and that the few positive results found reflect false positive findings. The higher survival with RFR, along with the prior epidemiological literature, leaves me even more skeptical of the authors’ claims,” he wrote in his review. (Source: NBC News)
Even if it might not show immediate effects, if the study is carried on for a longer time, one can find out about the long-term effects because usually, phones in the market are sold with a specific SAR rating allowance and they are not approved for sale if they have SAR rating above the permissible limits.
Nevertheless, the way technology is progressing and the wireless usage for every kind of connectivity around (Calls, data Internet, Wi-Fi, Dongle streaming, Tethering mobile internet, and a lot other) it does pose a risk for the long-term healthy status of humans. Again, I am saying this without any evidence.
Pic source: CNET
