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+--- Thread: Mobile Phones' Microwaves May Well Cause Brain Cancers! (/thread-6563.html)
Mobile Phones' Microwaves May Well Cause Brain Cancers! - Peter Lemkin - 01-06-2011
Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? An Explosive 'Maybe'
by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel on 31 May 2011, 4:57 PM
Whether or not cell phones cause brain cancer is a question that's been debated (but not answered) for years, and today the World Health Organization (WHO) stepped into the fray. A WHO committee that evaluates various potential cancer-causing agents concluded that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, including cell phones, are "possibly carcinogenic" to people. The announcement was seized upon and published in dozens of news outlets within minutes.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) arrived at the conclusion of possible carcinogenicity after an 8-day review of the literature by 31 experts, in Lyon, France. The classification falls in the middle of IARC's hierarchy of risk, joining a group of more than 250 potential carcinogens that also includes lead, engine exhaust, and occupational exposure to dry cleaning. In a sign of how tough it is to determine that something doesn't cause cancer, just one of the 900 or so agents that IARC has evaluated, caprolactam, a component of fibers and plastics, falls in the "probably not carcinogenic" category.
When it comes to cell phones, "we found some threads of evidence telling us how cancer might occur, but I think there are acknowledged gaps and uncertainties," said Jonathan Samet, chairperson of the IARC Working Group and a physician and public health expert at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, during a press conference. The working group was particularly influenced by an international study called Interphone that's examining whether exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from cell phones causes cancer. Last year, the Interphone study group wrote in the International Journal of Epidemiology that it saw "no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma." It continued: "There were suggestions of an increased risk of glioma at the highest exposure level, but biases and errors" make it tough to show that the phones were the cause. "The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation," they concluded.
IARC would like more research as well. Samet noted that at this point there are almost 5 billion cell phone subscriptions worldwide, and "we anticipate an ever larger population that is exposed for longer and longer." That said, shifting cell phones from the "possible" category to a more definitive one won't be easy. Epidemiologic studies like Interphone tend to match healthy people with those who have brain cancer and ask both to recall their cell phone use. "We know that is inherently imperfect," said Samet. And because all these studies take time to conduct, they inevitably examine older technology. Animal studies looking at the risk from radiofrequency electromagnetic fields have been mixed, both in whether they see a danger and in why that might be.
Whether IARC re-evaluates cell phone hazards, the committee says, will depend on what new research comes out.
Mobile Phones' Microwaves May Well Cause Brain Cancers! - Magda Hassan - 01-06-2011
Interesting. I have always felt uneasy having long conversations on a mobile phone as you can just feel the heat building up on the phone and your hand and head. It just feels yuk.
There was a report about this on the radio today and their take on it was everything is okay. The wheeled out some big wig scientist who said the science wasn't yet in and since mice have not developed cancer from exposure to this form of radiation then all is well.....
Mobile Phones' Microwaves May Well Cause Brain Cancers! - Peter Lemkin - 01-06-2011
Magda Hassan Wrote:Interesting. I have always felt uneasy having long conversations on a mobile phone as you can just feel the heat building up on the phone and your hand and head. It just feels yuk.
There was a report about this on the radio today and their take on it was everything is okay. The wheeled out some big wig scientist who said the science wasn't yet in and since mice have not developed cancer from exposure to this form of radiation then all is well.....
I'm sure with a little digging, one could find the reason for this big-wig scientist's favorable bent vis-a-vis mobile phones. Mice also don't spend long on mobiles. This is a well known effect in the Environmental Health community and there are many studies that show they are harmful - most harmful with the number of hours you are on them and much of the radiation can be eliminated with a long 'hands-free' line and earphones/mike from the phone itself. The newer models with all the super features are the worst offenders in the level of radiation. It took years to get all know known carcinogens recognized as such - as government and business were always dragging out big-wig scientists to say that dioxin, asbestos, radon, TOBACCO, etc. ad nauseum was not harmful and certainly not carcinogenic. :nono:
Those idiots or naive persons who have those star trec ear pieces in their ear all day will be the worst effected. For now, keep the calls short and the phone as far away from your head as possible - ideally as far from your body as possible and off some of the time [mine is hardly ever on or near me!]
Mobile Phones' Microwaves May Well Cause Brain Cancers! - Magda Hassan - 01-06-2011
Yes, I have observed that mice do not make great use of mobile phones. :phone: and this is probably reflected in their lower incidence of tumors from mobile phone radiation. And it would be good to know this scientist's financial investments portfolio better.
Mobile Phones' Microwaves May Well Cause Brain Cancers! - Peter Lemkin - 01-06-2011
Magda Hassan Wrote:Yes, I have observed that mice do not make great use of mobile phones. :phone: and this is probably reflected in their lower incidence of tumors from mobile phone radiation. And it would be good to know this scientist's financial investments portfolio better.
I haven't looked at the mouse experimental evidence; but will note that the greatest difference in most humans from most mice is the brain [some people - not] - the rest of the physiology is quite similar, if shaped differently. I have seen some of the human studies which have shown statistically significant higher rates of brain cancers in those persons who are perpetually on mobile phones [like stock brokers/toxic asset dealers who have one to each ear] - but one could argue such people are getting cancer from what they are thinking.....:banghead: