4 ms·

The debate on cell phones and their effects is fun to watch. In another 30+ years we should have a solid body of evidence one way or another.

XorNot 8y ago
Or you could look at the very comprehensive evidence available now. Cigarette companies weren't unaware of the health dangers of their products. Asbestosis wasn't a mystery for decades before any serious action was taken.
- jonathanoliver 8y ago
  I was hoping for 30+ year studies on this topic. Also, for things like LASIK surgery where people who have had LASIK 50+ years earlier and what effects it had on their vision. Results take time to measure.
  - contingencies 8y ago
    What about all the crazy stuff people do to their bodies in the name of beauty? Most of that has to be unhealthy. Skin whitening, starvation, insertion and removal of stuff, stretching of stuff, etc. An ode to the humble corset?
garmaine 8y ago
We have a solid body of evidence now. Cell phone radios do not disrupt biological systems.
- colordrops 8y ago
  Don't just spout unfounded statements as fact, especially when they are the exact opposite of the truth. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4781774/ https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4781774/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184892/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184892/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110569017301875 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S111056901... https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phones.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposu... https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/r... https://www.ewg.org/cell-phone-radiation-affects-brain-function https://www.ewg.org/cell-phone-radiation-affects-brain-funct...
- crazynick4 8y ago
  Although observable physical effects on humans have not been proven, behavioral effects on insects have been documented. These are interesting pilot studies because insect behavior is relatively simple and deviations more easily measured when compared to humans. Any explanations as far as the physical mechanism would involve changes in brain chemistry/activity which can be too subtle to detect. I would hold out on a final verdict for now as far as humans go and I don't think further studies should be ridiculed as paranoid just yet. Given the global use of cellphones I think it's better to err on the side of caution. It's an unpopular suggestion, especially at a time when tin foil hat conspiracies abound, but I don't think it's uneasonable. Emf is an observed physical phenomenon so there is nothing supernatural about the possibility of it's effects on human behavior. I should also add that what we really have is not so much a solid body of evidence but a number of studies which show a lack of evidence. This could just as easily point to the harmlessness of cell phones as our inability to observe their effects.
  - dantheman0207 8y ago
    Thoughtful and well made counterpoint to the sometimes overprotective stance tech industry people take to criticisms of cell phones. Seems to me like the issue is the dosage - there has never been any organism exposed to this sustained level of background EMF. Any longitudinal study started after widespread adoption. Do you have any links for the references you made to effects on insect behavior?
    - fpoling 8y ago
      People working at radar installations were exposed to much higher dosage of EMF than the usage of mobile phones since the second world war. Are there any studies about effect of those?
      - crazynick4 8y ago
        Not that I'm aware of. A general difficulty with interpreting case studies also is the number of unmeasured confounding factors. And when studying humans, what are we checking - is it simply increased rates of cancer? Or if it is behavioral/mental changes, then the natural differences in personal behaviors across individuals would make it practically impossible to set a control. Maybe once we finally develop a clone army we can know for sure.

XorNot 8y ago

Or you could look at the very comprehensive evidence available now. Cigarette companies weren't unaware of the health dangers of their products. Asbestosis wasn't a mystery for decades before any serious action was taken.

jonathanoliver 8y ago
I was hoping for 30+ year studies on this topic. Also, for things like LASIK surgery where people who have had LASIK 50+ years earlier and what effects it had on their vision. Results take time to measure.
- contingencies 8y ago
  What about all the crazy stuff people do to their bodies in the name of beauty? Most of that has to be unhealthy. Skin whitening, starvation, insertion and removal of stuff, stretching of stuff, etc. An ode to the humble corset?

garmaine 8y ago

We have a solid body of evidence now. Cell phone radios do not disrupt biological systems.

colordrops 8y ago
Don't just spout unfounded statements as fact, especially when they are the exact opposite of the truth. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4781774/ https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4781774/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184892/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184892/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110569017301875 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S111056901... https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phones.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposu... https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/r... https://www.ewg.org/cell-phone-radiation-affects-brain-function https://www.ewg.org/cell-phone-radiation-affects-brain-funct...
crazynick4 8y ago
Although observable physical effects on humans have not been proven, behavioral effects on insects have been documented. These are interesting pilot studies because insect behavior is relatively simple and deviations more easily measured when compared to humans. Any explanations as far as the physical mechanism would involve changes in brain chemistry/activity which can be too subtle to detect. I would hold out on a final verdict for now as far as humans go and I don't think further studies should be ridiculed as paranoid just yet. Given the global use of cellphones I think it's better to err on the side of caution. It's an unpopular suggestion, especially at a time when tin foil hat conspiracies abound, but I don't think it's uneasonable. Emf is an observed physical phenomenon so there is nothing supernatural about the possibility of it's effects on human behavior. I should also add that what we really have is not so much a solid body of evidence but a number of studies which show a lack of evidence. This could just as easily point to the harmlessness of cell phones as our inability to observe their effects.
- dantheman0207 8y ago
  Thoughtful and well made counterpoint to the sometimes overprotective stance tech industry people take to criticisms of cell phones. Seems to me like the issue is the dosage - there has never been any organism exposed to this sustained level of background EMF. Any longitudinal study started after widespread adoption. Do you have any links for the references you made to effects on insect behavior?
  - fpoling 8y ago
    People working at radar installations were exposed to much higher dosage of EMF than the usage of mobile phones since the second world war. Are there any studies about effect of those?
    - crazynick4 8y ago
      Not that I'm aware of. A general difficulty with interpreting case studies also is the number of unmeasured confounding factors. And when studying humans, what are we checking - is it simply increased rates of cancer? Or if it is behavioral/mental changes, then the natural differences in personal behaviors across individuals would make it practically impossible to set a control. Maybe once we finally develop a clone army we can know for sure.