For decades now scientists have been debating whether the radiation emitted from cell phones is causing permanent damage to the brains of people who use them. A new government funded study by the National Institutes of Health seems to suggest it is doing something, but scientists are not quite certain what that is.
Let’s be clear: according to researchers the electromagnetic radiation produced by a cell phones affects glucose metabolism. When glucose metabolism inside your brain goes up, cells get activated. The complete study was published in the Journal of American Medical Association and includes the caveat that while they know something is happening inside the brain, they don’t know what. The researchers said the cell phone need to be bombarding the brain for at least 50 minutes before any increase in brain activity was noted.
Maybe it is activating extra sensory perception, maybe it is burning calories, maybe it is doing nothing at all. They have no idea.
Like all scientific research which determines something is going on but does not reveal what exactly that is (like, say, global warming) they recommend more research be conducted.
In May 2010 the Interphone project by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the largest study of cell phone use and brain tumors ever conducted found that “no increase in risk was observed with the use of mobile phones.” The agency studied the effects of cell phone use of dozens of subjects over a ten year period. That is a substantial test group.
The latest research also tested dozens of subjects, 47 otherwise healthy adults to be precise. They tested brain levels when the cell phone was turned off and compared these with results when the phone was turned on. The study showed “significantly higher” brain activity in the area closest to where the antenna was located on the phone.
The brain is a sensitive electromagnetic instrument all by itself. It probably doesn’t need to be further stimulated by an outside device. But researchers can not say with any degree of certainty that the effects of 50 minutes of cell phone use will harm the brain of a healthy adult. They cannot say the same for adults with brains that have suffered some sort of previous damage or the brains of children, with thinner skull structures than their adult counterparts.
This is not the first time research has shown cell phone use could pose a hazard. Again and again some researchers have claimed that the electromagnetic emissions of cells phone could cause bran cancer or strokes or something, though no one has yet produced one shred of evidence to prove these claims.
Today, there are more than 300 million cell phones in use in the United States alone and almost 1 billion in use around the world. With that type of wide spread use it would seem if there was any type of negative effect it would hardly take a team of researchers and a group of 47 healthy adults talking on their phones for 50 minutes to prove it.
Thomas is the Founder and CEO of a premiere Virtual Assistant company in the US. He also consults on Search Engine Optimization and how to make your day more efficient thru the use of Virtual Assistants. To find out more information please feel free to visit their website.
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