The electromagnetic radiation emitted by a cellular phone's antenna appears to activate nearby regions of the brain to unusually high levels, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. that is likely to spark new concerns about the health effects of wireless devices.
The preliminary study, led by a respected neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health, raises many more questions than it answers. But by providing solid evidence that cellphone use has measurable effects on brain activity, it suggests that the nation's passionate attachment to its 300 million cellphones may be altering the way we think and behave in subtle ways.
Researchers peered inside the brains of 47 healthy subjects using positron emission tomography, also known as PET scanning, to measure the location and timing of brain activity by detecting signs that cells were consuming energy. They found that despite official skepticism that cellphones' electromagnetic energy exerts any influence on nearby cells — including statements issued by the Food and Drug Administration — it clearly does. ...
The study found that two areas of the brain close to the phone's antenna, which was embedded in the mouthpiece of the phone used, showed unusual increases in activity throughout a 50-minute period of live transmission. The researchers speculated that a cellphone with its antenna placed elsewhere — near the phone's earpiece, for instance — might activate different regions in the brain.
That the heightened activity occurred closest to the antenna, and not near the place where the phone was in direct contact with the head, signaled to the study's authors that the changes were a response to electromagnetic signals and not a reaction to the heat generated by the device. The FDA has taken the position that any harmful effects of cellphones are the result of tissue becoming overheated by direct exposure to the device as it warms with prolonged use. ...
via Cellphone study: Cellphone radiation heightens brain activity, study finds - latimes.com.
The above study did not find an increased risk of cancer, and claims "a growing body of research has failed to find evidence to support" the claim that cell phones cause cancer. Is this just because cell phone companies are paying for studies that fail to find cancer? Others say there is growing evidence in the other direction.
... There are even more radical voices in the field supporting the theory that mobile phones are more dangerous than smoking. Brain experts warn about the rising percent in tumors, calling on the industry to take urgent measures in reducing radiation. An Indian award-winning cancer expert claims that cell phones could kill more people than smoking or asbestos. ... using handsets for ten years or more can double the risk of developing brain cancer, as cancers take at least a decade to grow, invalidating official safety assurances based on some previous studies that apparently used irrelevant sampling procedures ....