All the independently-funded studies that included long term users have found an association between mobile phone use and an increased risk of brain tumours amongst adults Some studies have found that people who have used mobile phones for more than a decade have 200% more brain tumours, and only on the side of the head where the user holds the phone.
A cellular phone is
basically a radio that sends signals on waves to a base station. The carrier
signal generates two types of radiation fields: a near-field plume and a
far-field plume. Living organisms, too, generate electromagnetic fields at the
cellular, tissue, organ, and organism level; this is called the biofield. Both
the near-field and far-field plumes from cell phones and in the environment can
wreak havoc with the human biofield, and when the biofield is compromised in
any way, says Dr. Carlo, so is metabolism and physiology.
“The near field plume is
the one we’re most concerned with. This plume that’s generated within five or
six inches of the center of a cell phone’s antenna is determined by the amount
of power necessary to carry the signal to the base station,” he explains. “The
more power there is, the farther the plume radiates the dangerous
information-carrying radio waves.”
A carrier wave
oscillates at 1900 megahertz (MHz) in most phones, which is mostly invisible to
our biological tissue and doesn’t do damage. The information-carrying secondary
wave necessary to interpret voice or data is the problem, says Dr. Carlo. That
wave cycles in a hertz (Hz) range familiar to the body. Your heart, for
example, beats at two cycles per second, or two Hz. Our bodies recognize the
information-carrying wave as an “invader,” setting in place protective
biochemical reactions that alter physiology and cause biological problems that
include intracellular free-radical buildup, leakage in the blood-brain barrier,
genetic damage, disruption of intercellular communication, and an increase in
the risk of tumors. The health dangers of recognizing the signal, therefore,
aren’t from direct damage, but rather are due to the biochemical responses in
the cell.
Here’s what happens:
- Cellular energy is now used for protection rather than
metabolism. Cell membranes harden, keeping nutrients out and waste
products in.
- Waste accumulating inside the cells creates a higher
concentration of free radicals, leading to both disruption of DNA repair
(micronuclei) and cellular dysfunction.
- Unwanted cell death occurs, releasing the micronuclei
from the disrupted DNA repair into the fluid between cells (interstitial
fluid), where they are free to replicate and proliferate. This, says Dr. Carlo,
is the most likely mechanism that contributes to cancer.
- Damage occurs to proteins on the cell membrane,
resulting in disruption of intercellular communication. When cells can’t
communicate with each other, the result is impaired tissue, organ, and organism
function. In the blood-brain barrier, for example, cells can’t keep
dangerous chemicals from reaching the brain tissue, which results in
damage.
With the background
levels of information-carrying radio waves dramatically increasing because of
the widespread use of cell phones,Wi-Fi, and other wireless communication, the
effects from the near and far-fields are very similar. Overall, says Dr. Carlo,
almost all of the acute and chronic symptoms seen in electrosensitive patients
can be explained in some part by disrupted intercellular communication. These
symptoms of electrosensitivity include inability to sleep, general malaise, and
headaches. Could this explain the increase in recent years of conditions such
as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and anxiety
disorder?
“One thing all these
conditions have in common is a disruption, to varying degrees, of intercellular
communication. When we were growing up, TV antennas were on top of our houses
and such waves were up in the sky. Cell phones and Wi-Fi have brought those things
down to the street, integrated them into the environment, and that’s absolutely
new. The recognition mechanism, where protein vibration sensors on the cell
membrane pick up a signal and interpret it as an invader, only works because
the body recognizes something it’s never seen before.”
As to increases in brain
tumors tied to cell phone use, it’s too early to tell due to a lack of hard
data, says Dr. Carlo. “We’re never going to see that in time to have it matter.
Here in the US, we’re six years behind in getting the brain tumor database
completed, and currently the best data are from 1999. By the time you see any
data showing an increase, the ticking time bomb is set.”
Epidemic curve
projections, however, indicate that in 2006, we can expect to see 40,000 to
50,000 cases of brain and eye cancer. This is based on published peer-reviewed
studies that allow calculation of risk and construction of epidemic curves. By
2010, says Dr. Carlo, expect that number to be between 400,000 and 500,000 new
cases worldwide.
“This means we’re on the
beginning curve of an epidemic, with epidemic defined as a change in the
occurrence of a disease that is so dramatic in its increase that it portends
serious public health consequences,” says Dr. Carlo. “This is what’s not being
told to the public. One of the things that I suggest to people who use a cell
phone is to use an air tube headset. If you use a wired headset, the current
moving through the wire of the headset attracts ambient informational carrying
radio waves and thereby increases your exposure.”
