From the Reporters
Carole Matthews

The Safety of Cell Phones

 

Do cell phones cause brain damage? A February 2004 article in Popular Science magazine suggests that they just might. A team of scientists from Lund University in Sweden discovered a link between microwave radiation emitted by GSM mobile phones and brain damage in rats, re-igniting interest in the safety of cell phones.

The team exposed a group of rats to two-hours of microwave radiation from GSM cellphones. Fifty days after the exposure, the rats' brains showed signficant blood vessel leakage and areas of shrunken and damaged neurons. Not surprisingly, the cell phone industry is dismissing the data, stating that cellphone emissions are well within the FDA guidelines for radiation exposure. And, the Swedish team does admit that these initial findings need to be further supported, but I for one will probably become a little more aware of the time I spend on my cellphone.