DNA breaks: Microwave News Article Archive (2004 - )

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.

“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).”

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.

“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.

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.

“Evaluation of the Genotoxicity of Cell Phone RF Radiation in Male and Female Rats and Mice Following Subchronic Exposure.” NTP paper presented at Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society annual meeting, September 9-13, 2017.

“[E]xposure to RFR has the potential to induce measurable DNA damage.” More here and here.

“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).

“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.

“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.”