Mobile phones 'alter human DNA'
Pastor Dale Morgan
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*Mobile phones 'alter human DNA'*
[BBC] - Radio waves from mobile phones do harm body cells and damage
DNA, a laboratory study has shown.
The scientists behind the study, which has not been published in a
journal, said more work was needed to see the actual effect of the
phones on health.
But the UK National Radiological Protection Board said people should not
be worried by the study's findings.
A spokesman said the study had not shown the biological changes led to
disease.
He added that even research looking at the effects of radiowaves on
cells and DNA did not consistently find evidence of damage.
Around 1.5 billion people around the world use mobile phones.
There is an ongoing debate over their safety, with fears over potential
dangers linked to mobile phone masts and the handsets themselves.
However, the report did recommend a precautionary approach and said
children should only use mobile phones in emergencies.
The mobile phone industry maintains there is no scientific evidence of
harmful effects from electromagnetic radiation.
'Precautions'
The four-year Reflex study, co-ordinated by the German research group
Verum, studied the effects of radiation on animal and human cells in a
laboratory.
They found that, after being exposed to electromagnetic fields, the
cells showed a significant increase in DNA damage which could not always
be repaired by the cell.
The results of this study are preliminary, not yet published or peer
reviewed and require further replication by other groups
Mobile Operators Association spokeswoman
Damage was also seen in the next generation of cells. Mutated cells are
seen as a possible cause of cancer.
The study, which has not been published in a journal, also reported
other harmful effects on cells.
The radiation used in the study was at Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
levels of between 0.3 and 2 watts per kilogram.
The SAR is the rate at which the body absorbs emissions from the phone
handset.
Most phones emit radio signals at SAR levels of between 0.5 and 1 W/kg.
Mobile phones cannot be sold to unless they fall within the SAR of 2
watts per kg.
Franz Adlkofer, who led the Reflex study, said people should use
landlines, rather than mobiles, wherever possible.
He added: "We don't want to create a panic, but it is good to take
precautions."
He said definitive research would take another four to five years.
Other studies have suggested mobile phone radiation may have some effect
on the body, such as heating up body tissue and causing headaches and
nausea, but no study that could be independently repeated has proved
that radiation had permanent harmful effects.
'No conclusions possible'
Dr Zenon Sienkiewicz, principal scientific officer at the UK's National
Radiological Protection Board, said: "This research is no reason for
people to be worried.
"It is an interesting study, but its conclusions should not be
over-emphasised."
He added: "The bottom line is that more research looking at whether
mobile phones do have a measurable effect on health is needed."
A spokeswoman for the Mobile Operators Association said: "Independent
scientific review bodies in the UK and around the world have
consistently concluded that the weight of scientific evidence to date
suggests that exposure to radiowaves from mobile phone handsets and base
stations operating within international guidelines do not cause adverse
health effects.
"The results of this study are preliminary, not yet published or
peer-reviewed and require further replication by other groups."
She added: "It is not possible to draw conclusions from this preliminary
data.
"The authors of this unpublished study acknowledge that this work will
need to be repeated by independent laboratories."