Comparing DNA damage induced by mobile telephony and other types of man-made electromagnetic fields

Abstract

Comparing DNA Damage Induced by Mobile Telephony and Other Types of Man-Made Electromagnetic Fields Panagopoulos DJ. Comparing DNA damage induced by mobile telephony and other types of man-made electromagnetic fields. Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research. Published online Mar 11, 2019. doi.org. Abstract The number of studies showing adverse effects on living organisms induced by different types of man-made Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) has increased tremendously. Hundreds of peer reviewed published studies show a variety of effects, the most important being DNA damage which is linked to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, reproductive declines etc. Those studies that are far more effective in showing effects employ real-life Mobile Telephony (MT) exposures emitted by commercially available mobile phones. The present review - of results published by my group from 2006 until 2016 - compares DNA fragmentation induced by six different EMFs on the same biological system - the oogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster - under identical conditions and procedures. Such a direct comparison between different EMFs - especially those employed in daily life - on the same biological endpoint, is very useful for drawing conclusions on their bioactivity, and novel. It shows that real MT EMFs are far more damaging than 50 Hz alternating magnetic field (MF) - similar or much stronger to those of power lines - or a pulsed electric field (PEF) found before to increase fertility. The MT EMFs were significantly more bioactive even for much shorter exposure durations than the other EMFs. Moreover, they were more damaging than previously tested cytotoxic agents like certain chemicals, starvation, dehydration. Individual parameters of the real MT EMFs like intensity, frequency, exposure duration, polarization, pulsing, modulation, are discussed in terms of their role in bioactivity. The crucial parameter for the intense bioactivity seems to be the extreme variability of the polarized MT signals, mainly due to the large unpredictable intensity changes. Excerpts Thus, the present study makes the point that once a specific EMF is polarized (and coherent), includes ELFs, and has adequate intensity, then variability in its parameters (especially in its intensity) is of decisive importance in terms of its bioactivity. In the present study this was shown, a) by the direct comparison between six different EMFs in terms of their ability to induce DNA fragmentation in my studies, b) by indirect comparison between the effects of real MT EMFs in my studies and simulated MT EMFs in other studies, both directly compared with corresponding effects of a 50 Hz alternating MF, and c) by the large difference in bioactivity between simulated MT signals with invariable parameters and real MT (highly variable) ones from a great number of reviewed studies. This important point in terms of biological activity and public health protection should be further confirmed experimentally by direct comparison of effects between simulated and real MT EMFs of the same average parameters. The importance of exposure variability shown in the present study implies the need to define EMF-exposures not only by frequency components and average intensity values, but by reporting maximum and minimum intensity as well, frequency variations, pulsing or continuous wave, modulation, and - of course - polarization. Moreover, in published reviews of experimental studies employing MT and other types of microwave telecommunication EMFs such as DECT phones, Wi-Fi etc, it must be explicitly reported whether the exposures were real from commercially available devices or simulated from generators, test phones, etc. The present study further confirms my previous results and conclusions that experiments should employ real-life and not simulated EMFs, and human/animal exposure to microwave telecommunication EMFs should be drastically reduced by prudent use, and establishment of much stringer exposure limits by the responsible health authorities. sciencedirect.com

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

This review summarizes results from the author’s group (2006–2016) comparing DNA fragmentation in Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis under identical procedures after exposure to six different EMFs. It reports that real-life mobile telephony (mobile phone) EMFs were significantly more bioactive/damaging than a 50 Hz alternating magnetic field or a pulsed electric field, even with shorter exposure durations, and were described as more damaging than certain previously tested cytotoxic stressors (e.g., certain chemicals, starvation, dehydration).

Outcomes measured

• DNA fragmentation
• DNA damage

Limitations

• Review limited to results published by the author’s group (2006–2016).
• Animal/insect model (Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis); generalizability to humans not addressed in the abstract.
• Exposure metrics (e.g., frequency, intensity, SAR) and sample sizes are not provided in the abstract.

Suggested hubs

• who-icnirp (0.2)
  General discussion of EMF bioactivity and DNA damage in a review context; no specific policy body mentioned.

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        "duration": "varied; notes MT effects even for much shorter exposure durations than other EMFs"
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    "population": "Drosophila melanogaster (oogenesis)",
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    "outcomes": [
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    "main_findings": "This review summarizes results from the author’s group (2006–2016) comparing DNA fragmentation in Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis under identical procedures after exposure to six different EMFs. It reports that real-life mobile telephony (mobile phone) EMFs were significantly more bioactive/damaging than a 50 Hz alternating magnetic field or a pulsed electric field, even with shorter exposure durations, and were described as more damaging than certain previously tested cytotoxic stressors (e.g., certain chemicals, starvation, dehydration).",
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