WHO: Cell Phones Linked to Brain Cancer, Again

[techguy378]

[citation][nom]NoCaDrummer[/nom]I checked my microwave, and it uses 900MHz. So that's right in the range of the cell phone. However, I'd also have to question the safety of using a "wireless" headset since it's a higher frequency, and therefore higher energy.My solution? I don't use a cell phone. (2nd advantage - my weekends are my own.)[/citation]
@NoCaDrummer - You must be a bit mixed up. Your microwave may be a 900 watt microwave, but no microwave operates at 900MHz. All microwaves since the beginning have operated at 2.4GHz and are the number one cause of interference on 802.11b/g wifi networks.

BTW: Anyone who thinks cell phones increase the risk of brain cancer are a moron. My 27MHz RF wireless keyboard (which is in the same room I sleep in for 8 hours a night) has a far greater range than a 800MHz or higher wireless radio and it has zero risk of causing cancer.

 

[maigo]

smoking = lung cancer
cell phones = brain cancer

 

[DjEaZy]

... such a load of bullcrap... maybe a mobile phone helps to couse, but is not the cause... it's the chemistry of your organism and the steady attack of junk, that the humans pick up... polluted air, food and so on... eat a [not genetically modified] apple today and give doctor a free day... a wonder drug against cancer is apple seeds... but i see them just in apples in my garden... when i go shop for them, the apples has no seeds... check this out...

 

[jimmysmitty]

So thats where my mental powers and pyschic abilities come from.

 

[nelson_nel]

BIG SURPRISE! Good luck getting anyone to ACT on any of this. Way too much money is made from this industry to see it go away. And good luck getting funding for these types of studies... amazing.

 

[nelson_nel]

[citation][nom]bogcotton[/nom]It is the electromagnetic radiation cell phones use to transmit their information wirelessly. Pay phones are usually connection to the telephone grid, so wont do anything, except maybe give you an ear infection or sickness due to how horrendously filthy they are. Some/ most housephones are wireless now, so they also use radio or microwave frequencies, although of a much lower intensity.
The thing which they focus on is the fact that most people hold it to their head, and as you know, the intensity of the beam is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. Like ripples on a pond, if you are floating right next to where the stone dropped in, you will move a lot; if you're at the other end you'll move less.[/citation]

Don't even try to explain it to them, they don't even really want to know...

 

[nelson_nel]

[citation][nom]techguy378[/nom]@NoCaDrummer - You must be a bit mixed up. Your microwave may be a 900 watt microwave, but no microwave operates at 900MHz. All microwaves since the beginning have operated at 2.4GHz and are the number one cause of interference on 802.11b/g wifi networks.BTW: Anyone who thinks cell phones increase the risk of brain cancer are a moron. My 27MHz RF wireless keyboard (which is in the same room I sleep in for 8 hours a night) has a far greater range than a 800MHz or higher wireless radio and it has zero risk of causing cancer.[/citation]

No, you're the moron. It isn't just a function of the frequency, it's the power of the signal. And yes, we all (hopefully) realize the power is very low on the cell phones but guess what (if you know how to even imagine things)? Over 10 years (believe it or not, you might live to see you next 10 years...) you will have subjected your brain to MASSIVE amounts of low radiation over a long period of time. Does that sound healthy to you? Probably, because you're a moron. Case closed.

 

[nelson_nel]

[citation][nom]montezuma[/nom]Fuck all of you that were dumb enough to hit me with negatives, just because you are too fucking stupid to think for yourself. I have used a cellular phone for hours a day, every day since 1997 and I have NEVER had ANY negative side effects(save large bills from the cellular company). This "study" is total crap and will probably be shown as such when the findings are released. Hell, they negate their own study when it is said, ""In the absence of definitive results and in the light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect of radio frequency radiation, precautions are important,"" ...are you kidding me? Does everyone realize that the average human is bombarded with radio frequencies everyday?I will guarantee you that if these same subjects had been studied without a cellular phone, the results would have been exactly the same. If my girlfriend, who works for a major carrier, were to get cancer, then I would know why: she is genetically predisposed to get cancer. She has a long line of family members who have battled cancer. Chances are, there are many in this study with the same problem, but you will never hear about this.Of course, healthy people with no history of cancer get cancer. Since humans are always looking for someone to blame, they sent these idiots out to find a culprit. People are just going to have to deal with the fact that people get sick and there is not always a person or thing to point a finger at.If I thought that the radio frequencies might cause cancer, then I would be the first person to admit that some needs to be done. Until someone comes along to chance science fact, as we know it, then I will not get behind these studies. The WHO, just like other UN bodies, is nothing more than a waste of time and money.[/citation]

You're an idiot. Yes, there are RF signals every where but they are not HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL CONCENTRATED WAVES. Also, the device emitting these low risk waves that you are speaking of (not the cell phone) are not aimed AT YOUR HEAD for extended periods of time. Seriously, I never realized how stupid and ignorant people can be until I read what some of you people right. You would rather live ignorant than even contemplate that PERHAPS an expert in the field may know a LITTLE more than you, some jackass who uses a cell phone and doesn't want to believe it could harm him.

Why do people even bother to comment on things they CLEARLY have no knowledge about? Oh yeah, becuase he can overclock his processor, right? Loser.

 

[sstym]

[citation][nom]montezuma[/nom]I have used a cellular phone for hours a day, every day since 1997 and I have NEVER had ANY negative side effects.[/citation]

Oh so that MUST mean cell phones are harmless.

 

[theLaminator]

The electricity in our homes give off small amounts of electromagnetic radiation, we have our entire homes rigged to be wireless, and we have radio stations broadcasting radio waves. I'm not saying get rid of the system, hell I love electricity, wi-fi, and radio stations and if I get cancer from bombarding my body with radio waves, fine they make my quality of life much better than it would be without them. All I'm saying is we bombard ourselves daily with radiation and yet the only thing we blame for brain cancer is cell phone usage? Come on....

 

[Kaiser_25]

[citation][nom]montezuma[/nom]Better yet, who should we blame for funding false research on this issue and falsely alarming the public over a non-issue? Since, the last time I checked, cellular phones are not made with radioactive material, the devices cannot improve or depress the growth of cancerous cells.All of you blind little sheep here can spam the "thumb down" button all you want, but anyone with any sense will realize the level of bullshit in this article.[/citation]

You should learn a little bit about RF, radars etc, small (normal) amounts of exposure is fine but prolonged exposure can do some bad things to living cells. Yes there is no uranium in the cell phone but there is a RF transmitter...constantly emitting...

 

[Guest]

I’m a physicist and I wrote a blog that compares cell phone radiation to the radiation leaked from microwave ovens. Please check it out:

http://www.peterdolph.com/2009/08/will-microwave-radiation-give-you_19.html

 

[invlem]

[citation][nom]vfighter[/nom]Hey wow, I get this radio station from like 100 miles outside of town! My radio must be killing me! Jesus Christ people. It the power of the transmitter, and the sensitivity of the receiver at the towers that enable cellphones to have such coverage. Do some math. Look at the power rating on your phone's battery. Use it non-stop and see how long it lasts. How much energy was used? Yes the energy was converted to radio frequency, good for it. But I really do doubt that amount of energy operating at that frequency for that length is going to cause that much of a higher rate of cancer. Why would something like a Bluetooth device be any better? You know that works on radio frequency too? Just a different range. Shouldn't that be killing me too? Calm down and go outside, get some sun and die of skin cancer like a normal human being.[/citation]

Right, little bit of an ego there eh? You're knowledge of the subject is probably about as good as mine, how about we let the 30 million dollar study (conducted by people educated in the field) publish the full results before bashing it and calling it a farce.
Honestly do you have any idea how many things we've invented in the past, hailed as revolutionary only to find out down the road that they are extremely harmful to either us or the environment?
Hmm, asbestos and CFC’s come to mind right away. Lead paint anyone?
There are plenty more... Studies like this are required and are important, cell phones will never go away but results from studies such as this will force manufacturers to improve upon their designs and minimize the risk to the end consumer.

 

[dark_lord69]

My dad worked for a phone company for years and he was telling me about how this has the potential to cause issues since people hold them so close to thier heads. Also that the radio signal needs to be strong enough to reach a local cell phone tower. Working for a phone company like that he has had some of the first cell phones that ever came out. They were a bit safer when they had a normal antenna. Nowadays you are best off using a bluetooth device or earpiece so you are not holding the phone so close to your head.

 

[mowston]

Here is a recent (actually pre-publication) link to a review on the possible mechanisms by which radiofrequency radiation can affect cells: http://www.rbej.com/content/7/1/114

For those who aren't that familiar with how cancer develops, it is often said that cells require two hits for cancer to occur. The first step is generally considered to be DNA damage (or an inherited mutation), and the second hit can vary, but may be as simple as growth promotion. The same substance does not have to cause both hits to be potentially carcinogenic, so RF could promote cancer by either step.

 

[eyemaster]

[citation][nom]montezuma[/nom]Better yet, who should we blame for funding false research on this issue and falsely alarming the public over a non-issue? Since, the last time I checked, cellular phones are not made with radioactive material, the devices cannot improve or depress the growth of cancerous cells.All of you blind little sheep here can spam the "thumb down" button all you want, but anyone with any sense will realize the level of bullshit in this article.[/citation]

You are forgetting factors such as heat and blood flow to concentrated areas. Also, radio waves at such a concentrated point near the source disrupt cell functions.

 

[Parrdacc]

"...absence of definitive results and in the light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect..."

Does not sound like they actually know what they are doing or saying. Should they not be focusing on the swine flu problem? A situation we know actually exists.

 

[techw]

Maybe I missed this somewhere. Over the ten year period, how often, say, every day, was the cell phone used on average? This information can make a big difference in determining the scope of the problem. Are we talking an hour, 2, 4, 8, or more hours a day? Is this cumulative over a long period of time or just concentrated doses such as talking for long intervals that cause the problem? That is, if I only use the phone for short calls am I okay vs. using it for say, hour plus calls. More information is needed here to make an informed decision. I presume the study has this information but it never seems to make it into the news articles.

 

[will_chellam]

Reply to some of the comments above - yes, cellphones are not radioactive - but they do emit electromagnetic radiation - which can affect bilogical tissues - point of proof the visible spectrum on this webpage is causing rod cells in your eyes to depolarise approximately 30 times per second.

However high penetration is a good thing as it means most of the radiation will pass straight through you. I saw a study once that seemed to suggest wired handfree kits actually chanelled E.M waves into your head.

 

[PrangeWay]

Well no duh. Who would think pulling (even low level) microwaves THROUGH YOUR HEAD would ever increase risk of brain cancer. Duh. It's like CRT monitors, yeah that giant magnetic field projecting through your upperbody isn't going to effect you at all...