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We
are constantly being misled by elements of the mobile phone and
electronics industries (who have huge vested interests in the
infrastructure) into believing that the pulsed microwaves used in cell
phones and Wifi are harmless. Their sole justification for this is that
the radiation is too weak to generate significant heat when they are
absorbed by living tissues.
However,
they are seemingly oblivious to the fact that living cells depend on
electricity and electrically charged atoms and molecules (ions) to
maintain their healthy functioning. They can therefore be damaged electrically by electromagnetic radiation that is far too weak to generate significant heat.
For example, our cells use the energy from food to pump ions out of mitochondria (the cells’ power stations). They
are then let back in through an ATPase (an enzyme not unlike a
molecular water wheel). Each turn of the wheel generates a molecule of
ATP, which is the main energy currency of the cell. In effect, an
electric current flowing into and out of these tiny structures provides
virtually all of our bodily energy.
Some
of this ATP is then used to pump ions out of the cell. When they return
via special enzymes (called transporters) in the cell membrane, they
can carry with them essential nutrients that the cell needs to absorb.
So we use electricity to absorb our food too.
Another
example is in our nerve and brain cells. They use ATP to pump sodium
and potassium ions across their external membranes. Nerve impulses are
generated when these ions are suddenly let back again to give sharp
spikes of current.
Last
but not least, the membranes themselves (which are only two molecules
thick!) are held together electrically. They consist mostly of
negatively charged molecules bound together by positively charged ions
(mostly calcium), which act as a kind of cement.
Unfortunately,
weak electromagnetic fields gently tease out some of these calcium
ions, which weakens the membranes and makes them more inclined to leak.
As a result, our bodies become less efficient at generating energy and
our nerve and brain cells are more likely to generate false impulses.
False
impulses generated in sensory cells can give symptoms of
electrosensitivity, whereas those generated in the brain can affect
mental function and may also lead to stress headaches. Even people who
do not regard themselves as electrosensitive, frequently get headaches
and other unpleasant symptoms when exposed for long periods to the
radiation from Wifi, cordless phones and mobile phones.
Other
reported effects from prolonged exposure to pulsed microwaves include
an increase risk of cancer and a loss of fertility. This seems to be
associated with observable damage to cellular DNA, probably as a result
of the leakage of digestive enzymes from lysosomes (tiny particles in
living cells that digest and recycle waste) whose membranes have been
damaged by the radiation.
Pulses carried by microwaves
are particularly dangerous. This is because their very short wavelength
allows the transmission of pulses with extremely rapid rise and fall
times, and it is the rate of change of the fields (rather than
their total energy) that does most of the biological damage; it
catapults vital calcium ions away from cell membranes, which in turn
makes them leak. This leakage can explain the great majority of the
observed adverse health effects of prolonged exposure to
electromagnetic radiation (for more on this, together with references,
please visit http://tinyurl.com/55286a ).
It
is therefore unwise and arguably dangerous to be exposed for long
periods to the radiation from Wifi transmitters, cordless phones and
mobile phones (especially their base stations, which run 24/7).
They should certainly not be deployed in public places until all the
risks have been independently evaluated. Any claims that they are
harmless because they do not generate significant heat are completely
unwarranted.
Andrew Goldsworthy BSc PhD
Lecturer in Biology (retired)
Imperial College London
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