Question

1. Based on what you heard in this podcast, do you think you are "frying your brain" with your cell phone? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Human brain cells communicate via electrical impulses, which can be detected by non-invasive EEG (Electroencephalogram)measurements. A recent mobile phone study by researchers from Netherlands found that when a dialing mobile phone is placed on the ear, its radiation, although not consciously sensed, is electrically detected by the brain.The evidence from above studies shows that the human brain is sensitive to cell phone radiation. The observed brain activity change cannot be explained by only a heating (or thermal) effect as a result of temperature rise from energy absorption. However, no underlying biological mechanism has been identified to explain the effects.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies cell phone radiation as a “possible human carcinogen” due to an increased risk of brain cancer from long-term and heavy use of cell phones. Although short-term cell phone exposure has not been shown to cause brain tumors, research is showing that it can change your brain activity in ways we don’t fully understand yet.