This narrative review summarizes human and animal research on radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposure (e.g., mobile phones, Wi‑Fi, occupational sources) and male reproductive outcomes. It reports that the literature links RF exposure with reduced sperm quality and increased DNA damage, often alongside oxidative stress and other proposed biological changes. Although inconsistencies are acknowledged, the authors conclude the overall evidence suggests harmful associations and call for standardized, long-term studies and reconsideration of guidelines.

This animal study examined repeated asymmetrical head exposure to a 5G-modulated 3.5 GHz signal in adult male mice for six weeks. It reports no significant changes in locomotion, anxiety, or object-based memory performance under the tested conditions. However, it found statistically significant but limited cortical gene expression changes (<1% of expressed genes), including enrichment for glutamatergic synapse-related genes and lateralized differences involving mitochondrial genome-encoded genes. The authors caution that potential health risks from these intracortical transcriptomic modifications should not be downplayed and note uncertainties about longer exposures and other populations.

This animal study reports that dual-frequency RF EMR exposure (0.8/2.65 GHz, 4 W/kg) induced anxiety-like behavior in mice. It also reports reduced CB1R and endocannabinoid levels in the mPFC and altered endocannabinoid system markers in the BLA. CB1R overexpression or knockdown in the mPFC reportedly decreased or increased anxiety-like behavior, respectively, suggesting a mechanistic link in this model.

This animal study trained adult zebrafish to perform a conditioned avoidance response to a visual cue. The visual cue was presented alone or together with an extremely low frequency sinusoidally changing magnetic field (0.3 Hz) at 0.015 mT or 0.06 mT. The abstract reports that the 0.06 mT magnetic field condition impaired learning performance and response behavior, suggesting a cross-modal distraction effect.

This policy brief focuses on how RF-EMF exposure should be quantified in health research, emphasizing the role of near-field sources and proposing cumulative dose (J/kg/day) as a health-relevant metric. It reports mean cumulative dose estimates of 0.29 J/kg/day for the whole body and 0.81 J/kg/day for the brain. The brief notes established RF-EMF effects (heating, microwave hearing under highly pulsed radiation, and stimulation) and discusses indications of biological effects below thermal thresholds, while stating that improved metrics do not by themselves confirm harm.

This animal study examined repeated pulsed-modulated RF exposure (1–4 GHz; total pulse power density 300 μW/cm2) in male and female Wistar rats and assessed behavior using the open field test. The abstract reports stress reactions and long-term memory impairment in some rats, with females described as more sensitive than males. Reported effects were transient, with behavior returning to baseline within 1.5–2 months after exposure stopped. The authors suggest potential concern for constant exposure scenarios, though this is not directly evaluated in humans here.

This analytical study evaluated machine learning models (SVM and Random Forest) to predict health symptoms in adults living near mobile phone base stations. The SVM model reportedly achieved high predictive performance for headache, sleep disturbance, dizziness, vertigo, and fatigue, and outperformed Random Forest and prior models. The abstract concludes that proximity to base stations is connected with increased prevalence of several symptoms and emphasizes distance, age, and duration of residence as key predictors.

This letter critiques the WHO-sponsored systematic review by Karipidis et al. (2024) on RF-EMF exposure and cancer risk. The authors argue the review has serious methodological and interpretative flaws, including issues with study selection and data analysis. They contend that the review’s conclusion of "no clear evidence" may be misleading and should not be used as a basis for health policy or safety guidelines.

Moon et al. (2024) report a systematic review and meta-analysis on cellular phone RF-EMR and brain tumor risk. The abstract summary states elevated risks for three brain tumor types in analyses considering ipsilateral (same-side) phone use and reports increased risk with heavy and long-term use. The text also highlights disagreement with the 2024 WHO review and raises methodological concerns about WHO conclusions.

This systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis synthesizes human observational studies on radiofrequency EMF exposure and male fertility outcomes. It reports evidence of an association between RF exposure and poorer sperm parameters, including reduced quality, motility, and viability. The authors frame the findings as consistent with potential reproductive health risks and call for continued risk assessment and guideline development.

This animal study exposed adult male C57BL/6 mice to a 4.9 GHz radiofrequency field for three weeks (1 hour/day) and compared them with a sham group. The abstract reports altered fecal microbiome composition with reduced diversity in the RF group, along with 258 significantly differentially abundant fecal metabolites. The authors conclude that 4.9 GHz RF exposure is associated with changes in gut microbiota and metabolic profiles and call for further EMF safety research.

This National Toxicology Program technical report describes 900 MHz whole-body RFR exposures (GSM and CDMA) in male and female Sprague Dawley rats from in utero through up to 2 years. The report concludes clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in males for both modulations based on malignant schwannoma of the heart, with malignant glioma of the brain also reported as related to exposure. In females, the report concludes equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity for both modulations based on selected tumor outcomes, and genetic toxicology findings were mixed with some comet assay increases/equivocal results but negative micronucleus assays.

This animal study exposed male Sprague-Dawley rats to 900 MHz GSM mobile phone RF radiation for 4 hours and assessed ERα promoter methylation in colon tissue. The authors report altered ERα methylation patterns versus controls after RF exposure. They also report no radioadaptive response in ERα methylation following a subsequent 3 Gy Co-60 gamma challenge.

This rat study examined whether pulse-modulated 900 MHz and 1800 MHz RF exposure affects blood-brain barrier permeability using Evans blue dye. The abstract reports increased permeability in male rats at both frequencies (stronger at 1800 MHz) and in female rats at 900 MHz but not at 1800 MHz. The authors suggest mobile-phone-like RF exposure could increase blood-brain barrier permeability under non-thermal conditions, while noting that further mechanistic studies are needed.

This review discusses the comet assay and summarizes research on non-ionizing EMF exposure and DNA/chromosomal damage. It describes both positive and negative findings across studies, noting no consistent overall pattern for radiofrequency radiation (RFR). The authors nonetheless conclude that under certain exposure conditions RFR appears genotoxic and may affect DNA damage and repair, with evidence discussed as most applicable to exposures typical of cell phone use.

This review describes public concerns and scientific reports of non-thermal biological effects from low-intensity ELF and RF exposures. It lists multiple health endpoints reported to be associated with ELF and/or RF and highlights the BioInitiative Report’s conclusion that a reasonable suspicion of risk exists at environmentally relevant levels. The authors argue that existing public exposure standards should be lowered and that mobile phone SAR guidelines should be revised based on biology and long-term risk claims.