University of Washington bioengineer Henry Lai and Swedish oncologist Lennart Hardell wrote that the study raises questions that are potentially worrisome.

For starters, they asked whether the brain activity observed in the study may have resulted from a shift in the levels or action of certain brain chemicals, such as the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Because those chemicals play crucial roles elsewhere in the body, changes brought about by cellphone use could have unpredictable health effects far from the brain, they wrote.

Lai and Hardell also wondered whether regular use of wireless devices would prompt chronic stimulation of certain parts of the brain, and whether such stimulation could, over time, have unpredictable effects.

Radiation that penetrates only two inches into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No field studies have been completed to date on cellphone radiation and children, she says. ...

Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington ...maintains a database that holds 400 scientific papers on possible biological effects of radiation from wireless communication. He found that 28 percent of studies with cellphone industry funding showed some sort of effect, while 67 percent of studies without such funding did so. “That’s not trivial,” he said. ...

The city of San Francisco passed an ordinance this year that requires cellphone retailers to post SARs [specific absorption rates] prominently. This angered the C.T.I.A. [The Wireless Association, the cellphone industry’s primary trade group], which announced that it would no longer schedule trade shows in the city. ...

But Ms. Davis, citing unsettling findings from research in Israel, France, Sweden and Finland, said, “I do think I’m looking at an epidemic in slow motion.”

Devra Davis presents an array of recent and long suppressed research in this timely bombshell. Cell phone radiation is a national emergency. Stunningly, the most popular gadget of our age has now been shown to damage DNA, break down the brain's defenses, and reduce sperm count while increasing memory loss, the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and even cancer. The growing brains of children make them especially vulnerable. And half of the world's four billion cell phone used by people under twenty. ...

Davis, the founding director of the toxicology and environmental studies board at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, takes readers through the dark side of this trillion-dollar industry. ... Cell phone manufacturers have borrowed the playbook of the tobacco industry. One secret memo reveals their war plan against reports of cell phone dangers.

Increasing evidence indicates that oxidative stress may be involved in the adverse effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation on the brain. Because mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) defects are closely associated with various nervous system diseases and mtDNA is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, the purpose of this study was to determine whether radiofrequency radiation can cause oxidative damage to mtDNA. In this study, we exposed primary cultured cortical neurons to pulsed RF electromagnetic fields at a frequency of 1800 MHz modulated by 217 Hz at an average special absorption rate (SAR) of 2 W/kg. At 24 h after exposure, we found that RF radiation induced a significant increase in the levels of 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OHdG), a common biomarker of DNA oxidative damage, in the mitochondria of neurons. Consistent with this finding, the copy number of mtDNA and the levels of mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA) transcripts showed an obvious reduction after RF exposure. Each of these mtDNA disturbances could be reversed by pretreatment with melatonin, which is known to be an efficient in the brain. Together, these results suggested that 1800 MHz RF radiation could cause oxidative damage to mtDNA in primary cultured neurons. Oxidative damage to mtDNA may account for the neurotoxicity of RF radiation in the brain.

Rabbits in the first (phone) group were exposed, in specially designed cages, to radio frequency emitted from the mobile phone (800 MHz) in a standby position opposite to that of testes for 8 h daily for 12 weeks. A drop in the sperm concentration appeared in the phone group at week 6 ...Histological examination showed also a significant decrease in the diameter of seminiferous tubules in the phone group vs. the stress and ordinary controls (191 mum vs. 206 and 226 mum, respectively). ... In conclusion, low intensity pulsed radio frequency emitted by a conventional mobile phone kept in the standby position could affect the testicular function and structure in the adult rabbit.

The aim of present study is to assess DNA integrity on the effect of exposure to a radio frequency (RF) signal from Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile phones. ...Univariate analysis showed that DNA damage was significantly different among combinative exposure of RF signals and APC at 0.2 microg/ml (p < 0.05) and at 2 microg/ml (p < 0.02). APC at 2 microg/ml concentration also showed significant damage levels (p < 0.05) when compared to sham exposed. DNA repair efficiency also varied in a significant way in combinative exposure sets (p < 0.05). From these results, it appears that the repair inhibitor APC enhances DNA breaks at 2 microg/ml concentration and that the damage is possibly repairable. Thus, it can be inferred that the in vitro exposure to RF signals induces reversible DNA damage in synergism with APC.

Regular use of mobile telephones increases the risk of developing tumours, a new scientific study by Israeli researchers and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology revealed on Friday. An extract of the report seen by Israel's Yedoit Aharonot newspaper put the risk of developing a parotid gland tumour nearly 50 percent higher for frequent mobile phone users -- more than 22 hours a month. The risk was still higher if users clamped the phone to the same ear, did not use hands-free devices or were in rural areas.

Mobile phones can take as little as ten minutes to trigger changes in the brain associated with cancer, scientists claimed yesterday. They found even low levels of radiation from handsets interfere with the way brain cells divide. Cell division encourages the growth of tumours.

An association with acoustic neuroma was found in four studies in the group with at least 10 years use of a mobile phone. No risk was found in one study, but the tumour size was significantly larger among users. Six studies gave results for malignant brain tumours in that latency group. All gave increased OR especially for ipsilateral exposure. In a meta-analysis ipsilateral cell phone use gave for acoustic neuroma OR = 2.4, 95 % CI = 1.1-5.3 and for glioma OR = 2.0, 95 % CI = 1.2-3.4 using a latency period of 10 years or more. Results from present studies on use of mobile phones for > 10 years give a consistent pattern of an increased risk for acoustic neuroma and glioma. The risk is highest for ipsilateral exposure.

Mobile phones have been identified as a cause of reduced sperm production in men.   Microwaves emitted by the phones reduce the number, mobility and quality of sperm by almost half in the heaviest users, to the point where some men may become infertile, scientists say.   ...   Scientists from the Reproductive Research Centre at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, tested the sperm of 364 men being investigated for infertility.   They found that the heaviest users of mobile phones - more than four hours a day - had the lowest sperm counts at 50 million a millilitre and the least healthy sperm, judged by its mobility and the proportion of abnormal sperm.   Sperm counts were highest - 86 million a millilitre - and the sperm healthiest among those men who did not use mobile phones.   All men produce a high proportion of sperm that are abnormal, but in the heaviest mobile users the "normal" sperm fell to 18 per cent compared with 40 per cent in those who never used mobiles.

“Using a cell phone is not innocuous. It has an effect on your brain. Whether that's good or bad, we don't yet know, but it's definitely having an effect. The effects are clear. The increase in excitability is clear and lasts for about an hour. Is that effect harmful or beneficial? I don't know,” he said.

Swedish researchers said last month that the use of cellular phones over a long period of time can raise the risk of brain tumors. ... Those who heavily used wireless phones had a 240 percent increased risk of a cancerous tumor on the side of the head where they used their phone, they reported.

Parents should think twice before giving in to a middle-schooler's demands for a cell phone, some scientists say, because potential long-term health risks remain unclear.

Stewart said studies suggesting mobile phones can cause nonmalignant brain tumors, cognitive impairment or DNA damage should not be dismissed, but more research is needed.

Radio waves from mobile phones harm body cells and damage DNA in laboratory conditions, according to a new study majority-funded by the European Union, researchers said on Monday. ... After being exposed to electromagnetic fields that are typical for mobile phones, the cells showed a significant increase in single and double-strand DNA breaks. The damage could not always be repaired by the cell. DNA carries the genetic material of an organism and its different cells. "There was remaining damage for future generation of cells," said project leader Franz Adlkofer. This means the change had procreated. Mutated cells are seen as a possible cause of cancer.

Last week we got one of those periodic reminders that nobody knows whether cellphones may be seriously affecting our health. That worries me, given the ubiquity of these phones in our world today, and the fact that most of you reading this hold one to your head.

"Mobile phones damage key brain cells and could trigger the early onset of Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. Researchers in Sweden have found that radiation from mobile phone handsets damages areas of the brain associated with learning, memory and movement. The study, which was carried out on rats, is the latest twist in the long-running debate over whether mobile phones are a health risk."

"The possible risks of radio-frequent electromagnetic fields for the human body, is a growing concern for the society. We have earlier shown that weak pulsed microwaves give rise to a significant leakage of albumin through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Now we have investigated whether a pathological leakage over the BBB might be combined with damage to the neurons. Three groups of each 8 rats were exposed for 2 hours to GSM mobile phone electromagnetic fields of different strengths. We found, and present here for the first time, highly significant (p<0.002) evidence for neuronal damage in both the cortex, the hippocampus and the basal ganglia in the brains of exposed rats."

"Some animal studies have suggested that mobile phone radiation may cause increase in blood-brain barrier permeability. We have hypothesized (Leszczynski et al. Differentiation, 70, 2002, in press) that the mobile phone radiation-induced increased expression and phosphorylation (activity) of stress protein hsp27 might be the molecular mechanism regulating blood-brain barrier permeability and, possibly, cell apoptosis. Here we present evidence suggesting that mobile phone radiation indeed affects hsp27-dependent cytoplasmic distribution of F-actin and stability of stress fibers. This observation supports our hypothesis that mobile phone radiation-induced changes in hsp27 expression/activity might eventually lead to increase in the permeability of blood-brain barrier."

"Based on the known functions of hsp27, we put forward the hypothesis that mobile phone radiation-induced activation of hsp27 may (i) facilitate the development of brain cancer by inhibiting the cytochrome c/caspase-3 apoptotic pathway and (ii) cause an increase in bloodbrain barrier permeability through stabilization of endothelial cell stress fibers. We postulate that these events, when occurring repeatedly over a long period of time, might become a health hazard because of the possible accumulation of brain tissue damage. Furthermore, our hypothesis suggests that other brain damaging factors may co-participate in mobile phone radiation-induced effects."