4 ms·

It is curious. I wonder why non-ionizing radiation causes cancer? Given we are constantly bathing in wifi signals and cellphone signals, I wonder what the eff

It is curious. I wonder why non-ionizing radiation causes cancer? Given we are constantly bathing in wifi signals and cellphone signals, I wonder what the effects will be?

pasabagi 9y ago
I think there were some proposed mechanisms - involving interference between EM radiation and some cell membranes, for example. I expect we'll get a clearer picture in the coming years.
gsich 9y ago
Wlan has much lower transmission power then cellular.
- iknowstuff 9y ago
  Both are non-ionizing though.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
gnode 9y ago
Current scientific consensus is that it's unlikely that it does, however it's not completely ruled out. Risk of cancer from microwave radiation is considered to be thermal in nature. Unlike the background signals we are surrounded by, when making a phone call, you hold the phone to your head, meaning roughly half of the transmission energy is directed towards it. Furthermore, your brain is mostly water which absorbs microwaves well. That said, the heat generated by the absorption results in a very minimal increase in temperature, which is carried away by blood flow. Nerves are particularly sensitive to microwave burns, but this it observed at higher intensities.
geomark 9y ago
The strength of those signals is very, very low. WiFi around -60dBm or lower most of the time and the cellular signal where I go is usually well below -80dBm. For comparison, the power received from Earth's nearest star Alpha Centauri A is on the order of -50dBm. If I'm concerned about WiFi and cellular signals I should be positively freaked out about natural sources of em radiation. But having a couple watt transmitter pressed against the side of your head might be something to think about. Still, it is non-ionizing radiation and aside from the possibility of localized heating, which you would likely notice (I think?), what's going to cause cancer? Some previously unknown (to me) phenomenon?
- jobigoud 9y ago
  Earth's nearest star is the Sun :-) Which incidentally also emits ionizing photons in the UV zone.
  - geomark 9y ago
    Ok smarty. But you can choose to go outside only at night when the Sun isn't in the sky. But the sky is filled with other stars day and night. So you can never go outside if you are afraid of em radiation as weak as that emitted by WiFi hotspots or cellular phone towers.
dnautics 9y ago
DNA is a conductor, and it's possible that inducing current on the wire will jam electrical signals used by certain DNA correcting proteins (like the BER system) to hone in on mutations. The frequencies that cellphones operate on are known to induce currents on DNA.
FooBarWidget 9y ago
A recent study[1] found that blue light from smartphones are linked to some cancers. The cancers are not caused directly by blue light, but are caused by the fact that melatonine is surpressed by certain light temperatures, and disrupting melatonine and thus the circadian rythm can increase cancer risk. I'm guessing that the mechanism found in this HN submission's story also uses some non-obvious, indirect mechanism. Biology is messy and complex. [1] https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/04/27/235230/blue-light-like-that-from-smartphones-linked-to-some-cancers-study-finds https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/04/27/235230/blue-lig...

It is curious. I wonder why non-ionizing radiation causes cancer? Given we are constantly bathing in wifi signals and cellphone signals, I wonder what the effects will be?

pasabagi 9y ago

I think there were some proposed mechanisms - involving interference between EM radiation and some cell membranes, for example. I expect we'll get a clearer picture in the coming years.

gsich 9y ago

Wlan has much lower transmission power then cellular.

iknowstuff 9y ago
Both are non-ionizing though.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

gnode 9y ago

Current scientific consensus is that it's unlikely that it does, however it's not completely ruled out. Risk of cancer from microwave radiation is considered to be thermal in nature. Unlike the background signals we are surrounded by, when making a phone call, you hold the phone to your head, meaning roughly half of the transmission energy is directed towards it. Furthermore, your brain is mostly water which absorbs microwaves well. That said, the heat generated by the absorption results in a very minimal increase in temperature, which is carried away by blood flow. Nerves are particularly sensitive to microwave burns, but this it observed at higher intensities.

geomark 9y ago

The strength of those signals is very, very low. WiFi around -60dBm or lower most of the time and the cellular signal where I go is usually well below -80dBm. For comparison, the power received from Earth's nearest star Alpha Centauri A is on the order of -50dBm. If I'm concerned about WiFi and cellular signals I should be positively freaked out about natural sources of em radiation. But having a couple watt transmitter pressed against the side of your head might be something to think about. Still, it is non-ionizing radiation and aside from the possibility of localized heating, which you would likely notice (I think?), what's going to cause cancer? Some previously unknown (to me) phenomenon?

jobigoud 9y ago
Earth's nearest star is the Sun :-) Which incidentally also emits ionizing photons in the UV zone.
- geomark 9y ago
  Ok smarty. But you can choose to go outside only at night when the Sun isn't in the sky. But the sky is filled with other stars day and night. So you can never go outside if you are afraid of em radiation as weak as that emitted by WiFi hotspots or cellular phone towers.

dnautics 9y ago

DNA is a conductor, and it's possible that inducing current on the wire will jam electrical signals used by certain DNA correcting proteins (like the BER system) to hone in on mutations. The frequencies that cellphones operate on are known to induce currents on DNA.

FooBarWidget 9y ago

A recent study[1] found that blue light from smartphones are linked to some cancers. The cancers are not caused directly by blue light, but are caused by the fact that melatonine is surpressed by certain light temperatures, and disrupting melatonine and thus the circadian rythm can increase cancer risk. I'm guessing that the mechanism found in this HN submission's story also uses some non-obvious, indirect mechanism. Biology is messy and complex. [1] https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/04/27/235230/blue-light-like-that-from-smartphones-linked-to-some-cancers-study-finds https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/04/27/235230/blue-lig...