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15 Feb ’12
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There was a news story about 20 years or so ago where all these state troopers were developing brain cancer and testicular cancer, they believe it was from the radar guns that were mounted behind their head and the guns that they would rest in their laps, some reason I always think of that when it comes to cell phones.
A major U.S. government study on rats has found a link between cellphones and cancer, an explosive finding in the long-running debate about whether mobile phones cause health effects.
The multiyear, peer-reviewed study, by the National Toxicology Program, found “low incidences” of two types of tumors in male rats that were exposed to the type of radio frequencies that are commonly emitted by cellphones. The tumors were gliomas, which are in the glial cells of the brain, and schwannomas of the heart.
“Given the widespread global usage of mobile communications among users of all ages, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to [radio-frequency radiation] could have broad implications for public health,” according to a report of partial findings from the study, which was released late Thursday.
A spokesperson for the National Institutes of Health, which helped oversee the study, wasn’t immediately available for comment. Earlier in the week, the NIH said, “It is important to note that previous human, observational data collected in earlier, large-scale population-based studies have found limited evidence of an increased risk for developing cancer from cellphone use.”
19 Feb ’12
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Lets say they came out tomorrow. 20% of cell phone users will develop cancer from cell phone use. Would anyone stop using the cell phone?
21 Feb ’12
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I probably wouldn't carry it in my pocket anymore.
19 Feb ’12
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DangerDuke said
I probably wouldn't carry it in my pocket anymore.
If you're going to continue to use it, you got to carry it somewhere. lol And I'm not judging you, because I'm no better, but 20% of users getting cancer should be enough to say I'll never use it again, yet I doubt very few would give it up.
15 Feb ’12
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I would highly doubt it would stop most people
21 Feb ’12
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easytapper said
If you're going to continue to use it, you got to carry it somewhere. lol And I'm not judging you, because I'm no better, but 20% of users getting cancer should be enough to say I'll never use it again, yet I doubt very few would give it up.
I agree, I'm just saying while I'm driving for example, it's not in my pocket (I do this now anyway). While I'm at home, it doesn't need to live in my pockets. That sort of thing. Obviously there's not much getting away from it if you're walking around, but if you can mitigate risk I imagine it's worth it.
15 Feb ’12
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I hardly ever have my phone on my body, it is either on the dash or table in the house.
15 Feb ’12
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maybe not
Late last week, headlines blared that a new $25 million years-long US government study had finally found a clear connection between cellphone radiation and tumors in rats—striking fear in the hearts of gadget lovers worldwide. The finding—if true—would suggest we’re headed for an upsetting uptick in cancer incidence and death. Mobile phones, after all, are ubiquitous, and many among us have a near-religious devotion to them if not an unhealthy co-dependence.
Luckily for us, the study does not provide that clear link.
The study, which was not properly peer reviewed—despite what some outlets have reported—is chock full of red flags: small sample sizes, partially reported results, control oddities, statistical stretches, and a slim conclusion. In short, “there is nothing in this report that can be regarded to be statistically significant," Donald Berry, a biostatistics professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told Ars. "The authors should have used the 'black box warning.'"
If cellphone radiation really does cause cancer, this study wouldn’t have proven it. And the mountains of preexisting data on the topic all point to mobile devices as posing zero to very low risks. This includes a recent Australian study that found no significant increases in brain cancer since the introduction of mobile phones.
So how did this study grab headlines? First, the authors are researchers at the National Toxicology Program (NTP), which years back received millions of dollars from the government to set up this experiment, the largest animal study to date on the subject. In carefully designed and expensive setups, researchers exposed more than 2,000 rats and mice to wireless frequencies using two common signal modulations: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). In batches of 90, rats got full-body exposure to 900MHz frequencies of both types of signal modulations. Mice received the same treatment, but at 1900MHz frequencies. Exposure came in 10 minute stretches over 18 hours, with a total of nine hours a day, seven days a week. In humans, that would equate to a lot of phone time.
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