A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

DNA breaks: Microwave News Article Archive (2004 - )

June 12, 2023

Unremarkable science can sometimes tell a remarkable story. Two papers that were published in the last few weeks —and passed mostly unnoticed— have important, though very different, backstories.

One offers a surprising glimpse of change in the usually static field of RF research, while the other shows how much has stayed the same over the last many years.

Yet, in the end, they offer the same well-worn message, always worth repeating: Those who sign the checks, run the show.

The two papers come 30 years after Henry Lai and N.P. Singh began an experiment at the University of Washington in Seattle that would set off alarm bells across the still-young cell phone industry —and the U.S. military. Lai and Singh would show that a single, two-hour exposure to low-level microwave radiation (today, we’d say RF) could lead to breaks in the helical strands of DNA in the brains of live rats.

January 25, 2023

“Acute RF EM Radiation Exposure Impairs Neurogenesis and Causes Neuronal DNA Damage in the Young Rat Brain,” Neurotoxicology, posted November 3, 2022. Five-week-old male rats exposed to 2.1 GHz with a head average SAR of 1.51 W/kg for 8 hours. Higher levels of lipid peroxidation, carbon-centered lipid radicals and single-strand DNA damage were seen in the rats’ brains.

February 8, 2021

A German court of appeals has ordered Alexander Lerchl to stop smearing the authors of two papers which show that mobile phone radiation can break DNA and possibly cause cancer. For more than a decade, Lerchl, a professor of biology at Jacobs University in Bremen, has charged, without evidence, that the experimental data from Hugo Rüdiger’s lab at the Medical University of Vienna (MUV) were fabricated.

In its long-awaited decision, dated December 11, 2020, and released at the end of January, the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Bremen threatened Lerchl with a fine of up to €250,000 (~US$300,000), or six months in prison, if he continues to falsely disparage the Rüdiger papers. The penalties would apply each time Lerchl violates the court order. Lerchl must also pay €20,000 in court costs.

February 8, 2021

Alexander Lerchl’s bogus campaign against the REFLEX project and members of Hugo Rüdiger’s lab did nothing to harm his career. Just the opposite, Lerchl thrived as he gained stature and a succession of rich research grants from the German government.

Over the last 20 years, Germany’s Federal Office of Radiation Protection —the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, or BfS for short— has given Lerchl $5 million in contracts. Lerchl has been the best-funded RF lab researcher in Germany, Europe, and, most likely, the world.

December 4, 2020

“Effects of Different Mobile Phone UMTS Signals on DNA, Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress in Human Lymphocytes,” Environmental Pollution, December 2020. “Our data support a notion that each specific signal used in mobile communication should be tested in specially designed experiments.”

November 18, 2020

“Effect of Intermittent ELF MF on Umbilical Cord Blood Lymphocytes,” Bioelectromagnetics, posted November 15, 2020. Among the findings: A stronger effect at lower field strengths. Also: “[O]ur results provide a new example of the biological relevance of the first Schumann resonance frequency (7.8 Hz).”

June 11, 2020

“Continuous Exposure to 1.7 GHz LTE EMFs Increases Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species to Decrease Human Cell Proliferation and Induce Senescence,” Scientific Reports, June 8, 2020.

“The anti-proliferative effect of 1.7 GHz LTE RF-EMF on various human cells in this study suggests that the [such] exposure would be more harmful to children.” From Korea, open access.

January 21, 2020

Last January, a team led by Yawei Zhang of the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven published an epidemiological study on the possible link between thyroid cancer and cell phones. Though some “suggestive” associations were seen among long-term users, none was statistically significant. Still, the results “warrant further investigation,” they advised.

Zhang did follow up, and what she found could well change the way people think about cell phone cancer risks.

She discovered that some people have an innate susceptibility to thyroid cancer when exposed to cell phone radiation. These individuals have small variations in their DNA which affect the functioning of seven different genes.

All seven genes regulate DNA repair.

January 14, 2020

“Comparative Cyto- and Genotoxicity of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz EMF Radiations in Root Meristems Allium cepa,” Exotoxicology and Environmental Safety, January 2020.

Very low SARs lead to DNA breaks: 0.09 W/Kg @900 MHz and 0.169 W/Kg @1.8 GHz. Damage “more pronounced” at 1800 MHz. (Allium cepa = onion)

January 13, 2020

“Whole-Body Exposures to RF-EMF Energy Can Cause DNA Damage in Mouse Spermatozoa via an Oxidative Mechanism,” Scientific Reports, November 25, 2019.

In summary, our evidence supports the hypothesis that sustained whole-body RF-EME is capable of inducing a state of oxidative stress in the male germ line, a cell vulnerable to the effects of ROS. … Furthermore, our data further implicate the mitochondria as the target for RF-EME biophysical interaction, with a consequential elevation of mitochondrial ROS generation being linked to reduced motility and elevated oxidative DNA damage and DNA fragmentation in the spermatozoa of exposed male.” From Australia. Open access.

October 22, 2019

“Evaluation of the Genotoxicity of Cell Phone RFR in Male and Female Rats and Mice following Subchronic Exposure,” Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, posted October 21, 2019.

From the NTP: "[S]ignificant increases in the levels of DNA damage measured by the comet assay were seen in several tissues from rats and mice, indicating that RFR may be capable of causing increases in DNA damage.” More here and here.

September 17, 2019

The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) will soon embark on a new phase of its long-running RF project. Last year, the NTP concluded that RF radiation causes cancer; now it will begin a systematic search for mechanisms to explain how and why the tumors developed. Work is expected to begin by the end of the year.

The research plan is wide-ranging. It will include studies on gene expression, oxidative stress and DNA damage and repair, as well as on the possible role played by heat. Other priorities on the NTP agenda are studies on behavior and stress.

March 21, 2017

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has changed course and will not —at least for the time being— publish its findings of increased DNA breaks among rats exposed to cell phone radiation as a stand-alone paper.

The DNA study, which is part of NTP’s landmark experiment showing that RF radiation can lead to tumors in the brains and hearts of laboratory animals, will now be incorporated in NTP’s Technical Report on the $25 million project, the NTP has told Microwave News.

December 13, 2016

“RF Radiation (900 MHz)-Induced DNA Damage and Cell Cycle Arrest in Testicular Germ Cells in Swiss Albino Mice,” Toxicology and Industrial Health, posted online October 13, 2016.

“Induced oxidative stress causes DNA damage in germ cells, which alters cell cycle progression leading to low sperm count in mice.” These changes are reversible (from Assam University, India; open access).

September 6, 2016

In May, the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) announced that male rats exposed to cell phone radiation developed higher rates of cancer. Soon, the NTP will explain how that might have happened.

The same RF/microwave radiation that led male rats to develop brain tumors also caused DNA breaks in their brains. Female rats —which did not have significant elevated tumor counts— had fewer DNA breaks.

All these findings are part of the same $25 million NTP project.

The NTP results provide “strong evidence for the genotoxicity of cell phone radiation,” Ron Melnick told Microwave News.

January 25, 2016

“2100 MHz RF Radiation of a 3G-Mobile Phone and the DNA Oxidative Damage in Brain,” Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy, posted online January 8, 2016.

“Our main finding was the increased oxidative DNA damage to brain after 10 days of exposure with the decreased oxidative DNA damage following 40 days of exposure compared to their control groups.” This is yet another research paper from Turkey.

August 19, 2013

“Mobile Phone Radiation [MPR] Induces Mode-Dependent DNA Damage in a Mouse Spermatocyte-Derived Cell Line: a Protective Role of Melatonin,” International Journal of Radiation Biology, posted online August 19, 2013, from Chongqing, China.

“[H]ands-free devices might reduce the MPR exposure intensity to the human head. However … the male reproductive system may be put into risks. Thus, it is important and urgent to establish feasible and effective strategies to prevent reproductive impairment following daily exposure to MPR. Significantly increased levels of DNA damage in the “dialing” and “dialed” modes were found in the present study…”

July 26, 2013

“Genotoxic Effects of Exposure to RF-EMF in HL-60 Cells Are Not Reproducible,” Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, posted online June 28, 2013, by a German team including Günter Speit and Rudolf Tauber.

“In conclusion, two independent attempts failed to reproduce genotoxic effects of RF-EMF in HL-60 cells as reported by the REFLEX project. These repeat experiments were performed under the same experimental conditions as the original experiments and one part of the repeat study was performed by the scientists who also generated the REFLEX data.”

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