New data from the National Institutes of Health propose cell phone radiation increases the brain activity. Some researchers believe cellphones are linked to brain tumors or cancer.
Researchers used PET scans to measure the brain activity found in 47 different participants after having cell phone both on and off next to their head for over 50 minutes. Researchers found that the brain increased in activity by about seven percent in the regions closest to the antenna.
“There have been several studies since the late 1990s trying to address whether the human brain is affected by the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones because it’s very, very weak,” the lead author on the study, Dr. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said.
According to the Department of Telecom, cell phone users, especially children and pregnant women are encouraged to text message rather than talk on their phone. Text messaging rather than calling will not increase radiation coming from the cell phone to your brain because it is not next to your head.
“While talking on mobile, keep calls short or send a text message. This advice should be especially relevant keeping in mind the children, adolescents and pregnant women,” one of the reports said.
The top 20 highest-radiation cell phones in the United States are, Motorola V195s, Motorola Zine ZN5, Motorola Rival, Kyocera Jax S1300, Motorola VU204, RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint), RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (U.S. Cellular), RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon Wireless), Nokia E71x, Pantech Matrix, LG Rumor 2, RIM BlackBerry Bold, HTC SMT5800, Sony Ericsson W350a, T-Mobile Dash 3G, Samsung Instinct, Samsung Spex SCH-R210, Kyocera X-tc, Motorola i576, and the Motorola Adventure V7750.
“The studies were very inconsistent, but we designed this study so it would be powered to detect small activity,” Volkow said.
Researchers are still debating on whether or not the radiation from cell phone use is good or bad. The increase of brain activity from cell phones can be good for your brain, or possibly be fatal.
