5 ms·

Cellphones have been in wide use for twenty-something years now. Surely if there were any significant increase in the risk of cancer it'd be showing up epidemio

by hugh3 15y ago

Cellphones have been in wide use for twenty-something years now. Surely if there were any significant increase in the risk of cancer it'd be showing up epidemiologically? As well as a lack of epidemiological evidence, we still don't have a plausible mechanism as to how mobile phones might cause brain cancer -- the energies involved just don't seem to be sufficient to actually do anything bad. I've seen promising students waste their PhDs on trying to figure out how mobile phones might be able to cause cancer, only to come up dry. Incidentally, a handy hint for students (and others) choosing research topics: avoid asking those questions where one possible answer is interesting and the other one is boring. If you ask "Does x cause y, and x causing y would be a big deal whereas x being unrelated to y is completely boring, then that's not a good topic for PhD work.

zzzeek 15y ago
> we still don't have a plausible mechanism as to how mobile phones might cause brain cancer Cellphone Use Tied to Brain Activity (nytimes.com): http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/cellphone-use-tied-to-changes-in-brain-activity/ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/cellphone-use-tied-...
- evilduck 15y ago
  "Dr. Volkow said that the latest research is preliminary and does not address questions about cancer or other heath issues"
  - zzzeek 15y ago
    Emphasis on "might". It's a hypothetical component of a mechanism, that's all. It proves that the tiny emissions from a phone do have a measurable effect, as opposed to none whatsoever. "the energies involved just don't seem to be sufficient to actually do anything bad." This statement cannot be confirmed - the energies are sufficient to do..."something". Whether it's bad or not, unknown.
    - zzzeek 15y ago
      and for once I'm not crazy ! http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/cellphone-radiation-may-cause-cancer-advisory-panel-says/?src=me&ref=general http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/cellphone-radiation... > This year, The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on research from the National Institutes of Health, which found that less than an hour of cellphone use can speed up brain activity in the area closest to the phone antenna. The study was among the first and largest to document that the weak radio frequency signals from cellphones have a measurable effect on the brain. The research also offers a potential, albeit hypothetical, explanation for how low levels of nonionizing radiation could cause harm without breaking chemical bonds, possibly by triggering the formation of free radicals or an inflammatory response in the brain.

by hugh3 15y ago

zzzeek 15y ago

> we still don't have a plausible mechanism as to how mobile phones might cause brain cancer Cellphone Use Tied to Brain Activity (nytimes.com): http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/cellphone-use-tied-to-changes-in-brain-activity/ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/cellphone-use-tied-...

evilduck 15y ago
"Dr. Volkow said that the latest research is preliminary and does not address questions about cancer or other heath issues"
- zzzeek 15y ago
  Emphasis on "might". It's a hypothetical component of a mechanism, that's all. It proves that the tiny emissions from a phone do have a measurable effect, as opposed to none whatsoever. "the energies involved just don't seem to be sufficient to actually do anything bad." This statement cannot be confirmed - the energies are sufficient to do..."something". Whether it's bad or not, unknown.
  - zzzeek 15y ago
    and for once I'm not crazy ! http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/cellphone-radiation-may-cause-cancer-advisory-panel-says/?src=me&ref=general http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/cellphone-radiation... > This year, The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on research from the National Institutes of Health, which found that less than an hour of cellphone use can speed up brain activity in the area closest to the phone antenna. The study was among the first and largest to document that the weak radio frequency signals from cellphones have a measurable effect on the brain. The research also offers a potential, albeit hypothetical, explanation for how low levels of nonionizing radiation could cause harm without breaking chemical bonds, possibly by triggering the formation of free radicals or an inflammatory response in the brain.