Cellphones have been blamed for everything from killing honey bees to frazzling our neurons with their deadly electromagnetic radiation. And, with
the increasing penetration of mobile phone in all parts of the world,
it's not hard to draw casual correlations between cellphone use and all
manner of deadly diseases and fatal events. But, there's a critical
distinction between a correlation and causation - just because Little
Bo Peep was eating curds and whey when she was attacked by that
infamous spider does not mean those curds caused the spider-clash.
Still, some scientists in Russia haven't let the correlative vs.
causative argument stop them from jumping to the conclusion that over a
dozen recent-deaths due to lightning strikes were caused by cellphones.
The past two weeks has seen more than a dozen Russians struck down
by searing bolts of sky-bound electricity, with the most recent death
happening just last week. Reports indicate that at least some of these
people were using cellphones or portable music players when they were
hit by lightning - leading some to believe that the electromagnetic
fields surrounding these gadgets are directly causing the lighting
strikes.
Leonid Tarkov of the weather observation center FOBOS believes that
electronics are the cause of these increased lightning strikes. "These
things are electromagnetic field carriers," said Tarkov. "That makes
them, in essence, conductors. Thunderbolts are frequently attracted to
such things, and hits are often connected with a lethal outcome."
Fortunately, most in the scientific community realize that
cellphones are most likely not the direct cause of lightning strikes.
The weak electromagnetic fields generated by portable electronics are
not powerful enough to guide or attract massively charged lightning
bolts, and most scientists reject the idea that a mobile phone's
electromagnetism can attract a lightning strike. But, they do
acknowledge that any metallic objects could make lightning strikes more
likely.
What else are they going to come up with? Nokia must really be
running out of ideas for features to pack into mobile phones. In what
must be more marketing than practicality, the n handset manufacturer
has started development on software that will allow their handsets to
warn the user of incoming lightning. We can't imagine that the system
is designed to warn of an impending direct-hit, but rather that there
will be lightning activity in the vicinity of the user. The patent application with the USPTO outlines
plans for software that would detect the radio signal given off by
lightning (typically in the 5Ghz to 10Ghz range). Joggers, golfers, and
anyone else looking to avoid lightning strikes will be able to use
their handset's built-in radio receiver to detect these frequencies and
warn them accordingly
Here we
go again. Yet another study finds that there may be a link between cell
phone radiation and brain cancer. A new study, published by The Daily Mail, claims that as little
as 10 minutes of exposure to radiation from your mobile phone can cause
chemical changes in brain cells that can lead to cancer.
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in
Israel have observed that short-term exposure to low-level mobile phone
radiation (at 875Mhz - similar to wireless network frequencies) can
trigger a chemical switch within the human and rat cells that controls
how the cell divides. Until now, the effect of radiation on the brain
has been considered from a thermal standpoint - does it heat the brain
enough to cause damage? But this new study concentrates on the
chemical triggers that have been linked to other cancers and represents
a new "non-thermal" link to cancer.
Dr. Simon Arthur, a health expert at Dundee
University, said the effect was 'unlikely to cause cancer." Still,
anything that messes with the way a cell divides is worrisome to us -
afterall, cancer results from uncontrolled cell division/growth.
Pick up a headset, Bluetooth or wired, and use it as
much as possible. It may not turn out to cause cancer, but what if it
does? Better safe than sorry - really, really sorry.
iPhone is dangerous to your brain?
Posted by Will
on Saturday, November 10th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
under iPhone, Apple
Right. The iPhone could be dangerous to your brain. But then, so could
any other mobile phone. And, the complete opposite could be true - we
just don't have any conclusive data one way or the other. That being
said, The Register is reporting that
replacement battery firm Exradia has called Apple out for ignoring
"potential health issue[s]" with the iPhone. As we all know by now, the
iPhone's battery is sealed inside the handset and isn't (easily) user
replaceable. And, Exradia just launched a new line of mobile phone
batteries with an integrated circuit that keeps your phone's wireless
radiation from wreaking havoc on your brain/DNA.
It looks like Exradia's just playing up the potential danger of the
radiation emitted by the iPhone to help sell a few extra batteries with
integrated RF-absorbing juju. If you want to play it safe, just use a
headset.
Exradia has launched a range of replacement batteries for popular
models of mobile phones which incorporate its special magic circuit to
interfere with the bad RF coming from your handset, but iPhone users,
with their non-replaceable battery, will just have to suffer.
According to the release Exradia are "...surprised Apple has chosen
to ignore this potential health issue", though the company admits
there's no evidence that mobile phones cause problems that's no reason
not to make a buck preventing those very problems.
It added, "...there is currently no
scientific evidence that clearly demonstrates mobile devices are safe",
says David Schick, chief executive, ignoring the fact that it's
impossible to prove a negative.
No study can ever demonstrate that mobile phones don't damage human
cells, or make peoples' heads explode, or cause their legs to drop off,
we can only assert that in the majority of cases these things don't
happen and play the odds the way we do every day watching TV, having a
shower or using a computer: none of which has ever been demonstrated to
be safe.
Last time we talked about Extradia we suggested that companies might
be interested in the technology in order to demonstrate they had made
an effort, but as the Extradia circuit interferes with low frequencies,
while handsets churn out masses of high-frequencies, it seems unlikely
any judge is going to accept such reasoning should a case come to trial.
But if you think your mobile phone is melting your DNA, and you
think it's the low frequencies doing it, then you are welcome to spend
25 quid on a replacement battery from Exradia, unless you've got an
iPhone - obviously. ®
Mobile phone use makes you retarded - but more focused
Posted by Will
on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 12:23
pm under Research
That's it. How many mobile phone studies are we going to have
to read about? Seriously, our mobile phones
are starting to scare the beejeebus out of us. The latest study
indicates that prolonged mobile phone use can lead to "slowed brain
function," but will also interestingly lead to "better focused
attention."
The study, published in the International Journal of Neuroscience,
was conducted using 300 people - 100 were ‘frequent mobile phone
users’, 100 ‘non-mobile phone users’ and an ‘intermediate group’ of 100
people. Researchers from Brainclinics Diagnostics and the Radboud
University department of Biological Psychology measured differences in
brain activity (measured using QEEG or quantative EEG),
neuropsychological functions (like attention, memory and executive
function) and personality traits.
Apparently, frequent mobile phone users were shown to have slower
brain function that could not be explained by differences in
personality and focused attention.
More troubling, the study seemed to indicate that the results could
become more pronounced with even longer-term mobile phone use. The
average mobile phone user had only used their phones for about 2.4
years - people that have had their mobile phone pasted to the side of
their heads for a longer period may exhibit more serious slowing of
brain function. But at least you get better focused attention, right?
Get yourself a wireless or wired headset, will ya?
Indian state bans mobile phones for teenagers 16
and younger
Posted by Will
on Friday, September 14th,
2007 at 1:00 pm under Random, Research
For the
love of everything teenie-bopper and annoying, why would anyone even
think of taking away a teenager's mobile phone? Well, aside from
silencing the incessant yapping and monthly-bill-destroying SMS text messaging, it seems
that government officials of Karnataka, India have deemed ""prolonged
use of [handsets] by teenagers" dangerous to their health.
The Indian state has outlawed the use and even sale
of mobile phones by teenagers 16 years of age and younger. Apparently,
there are some medical experts that think mobile phones could somehow
adversely affect a growing kids (brain) development. What could make them think such a thing?
According
to a new Carnegie Mellon University's study which was published in the
latest issue of the Brain Research
journal, using a mobile phone while driving could be as dangerous as
being under the influence of alcohol. In fact, researchers found that
drivers under the influence of alcohol and those speaking on cell phones tend to commit the
same errors.
With help of brain imaging, the study documented how
mobile phone use alone reduces 37% of brain activity engaged in
driving. This was proved in a simulator where drivers with mobile
phones zigzaged out of their lanes like they were drunk.
Now the horribly part — Bluetooth headsets don't
help! Distractions can be so big that even car-kits don't work. No wait
a minute, Bluetooth headsets work just fine for me and I must say I
don't see any changes in my driving. Hopefully government authorities
won't read this.
Mobile phones may not cause cancer but may cause
hearing loss
We're used to mobile phone researchers trying to
tell us that extended phone use will (or will not) lead to cancer this and cancer
that (and even the death of bee colonies), but the newest research
study investigates whether extended mobile phone use will lead to
hearing loss. The study, conducted by India's Post Graduate Institute
of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), is claiming that people who
use mobile phone more than 30 minutes a day are at increased risk of
developing hearing loss.
Principal investigator, Dr. Naresh Panda, said that
"This hearing loss was more in the dominant ear (ear of use). Presence
of fullness in the ears, ear warmth, strange noises in the ear are
warning signals which should not be ignored." The hearing loss is
especially pronounced in the higher frequencies.
But, the study only tracked 100 mobile phone users
ranging from 18-45 years old. Dr Panda stresses that the study results
are preliminary and more research needs to be done before we can
consider these findings significant
Mobile phones cause dangerous interference in hospital equipment?
Posted by Will
on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
under Research
Ok, we
knew mobile could possibly be responsible for killing bees. They could be linked to cancer. Now it looks like mobile
phones could interfere with a hospital's critical care equipment -
external pacemakers, syringe pumps, etc.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam researchers recorded
nearly 50 incidents where mobile phones were used in close proximity to
such sensitive equipment. They determined that mobile phones should not
be brought within one meter of these devices - and found that "critical
care equipment is vulnerable to electromagnetic interference by
new-generation wireless telecommunication technologies with median
distances of about 3 centimeters."
The study seemed to indicate that GPRS signals (EDGE for most of us
still using GPRS) seemed to provoke the most interference.
So, the next time you go to visit your sick friend or relative
(especially in an intensive care unit), try to hit the power button on
your mobile phone.
In a factory in Thailand making motors for Nokia
phones, employees work with lead solder and have to buy their own
protective masks and gloves because the company wants to save on
‘overhead’. Lead solder contains 40% lead and is so dangerous that
it has been banned from electronics by several European regulations.
Instead of protective equipment, the workers are given milk to filter
the toxins from their blood. Several sick workers were hospitalised and
diagnosed with dangerous levels of lead poisoning.
I don't really know what to say expect I was kind of
expecting this. I mean exploitation of labor is nothing new, and people
will always try to blow the lid on it, but we can't fix it from here.
The government needs to implement changes, and that gets in to a
political issue that is beyond me or you. Do I feel bad for these
people? Sure, but what can I do?
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