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Cellphone radiation affects cells in living humans(New Scientist Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) RADIATION from cellphones is too weak to heat biological tissue or break chemical bonds in cells, but the radio waves they emit may still affect cell behaviour. "Our study suggests that it is possible that mobile phone radiation alters the expression of some proteins in living humans," says Dariusz Leszczynski at the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, in Helsinki. Leszczynski exposed 10 female volunteers to radiation at 900 megahertz from GSM phones to simulate an hour-long phone call. He screened 580 different proteins in their skin cells and found that the numbers of two proteins were altered in all of the volunteers: one protein increased by 89 per cent, the other decreased by 32 per cent (BMC Genomics , DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-9-77). , this is the first study to show molecular effects of phone radiation on humans. It does not necessarily mean that the radio waves have a negative health effect, Leszczynski says. "But it does mean that the human body recognises this low-level radiation and reacts to it." The precise role of these proteins is not known, nor which genes code for them. The proteins were detected by molecular weight and electrical properties. Leszczynski now plans to run a larger study to identify the proteins and establish any health impact the changes may have. Copyright ? 2008 Reed Business Information - UK. All Rights Reserved. |