A 29-Year Study Has Found No Link Between Brain Cancer and Cellphones

[FLPanhandle]

http://gizmodo.com/a-29-year-study-has-found-no-link-between-brain-cancer-1775038908

?itok=iGb-UlJ2

If, and by how much cellphones increase the risk of brain cancer is a long and disputed argument. No one study is going to settle anything, but one statistical analysis of data in Australia hints at cellphones being reasonably safe.

The study examines the incidence of brain cancer in the Australian population between 1982 to 2013. The study pitted the prevalence of mobile phones among the population—starting at 0 percent—against brain cancer rates, using data from national cancer registration data.

The results showed a very slight increase in brain cancer rates among males, but a stable level among females. There were significant increases in over-70s, but began in 1982, before cellphones were even a thing.

The data matches up with other studies conducted in other countries, but Australia is a particularly excellent example—all diagnosed cases of cancer have to be registered by law, creating consistent data to work with.

By the nature of the multiple variables, large samples and very long lead-time for cancer to show up, the cellphone-brain cancer conversation is always going to be contentious. But studies like this are increasingly showing that if you really want to be safer, forget your cellphones, and look both ways crossing the road.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows the power output of a cellphone compared to the radiation your head receives on a sunny day.

[Recursion]

1. Microwave ovens are a bigger threat

For fun some time: microwave ovens and CDMA both use the "1GHz or so" band. Put your cell phone in a microwave oven and close the door (obviously don't turn the oven on). Call your cell phone. Watch it ring. That "shielding" doesn't block anything.

Cell phone signals have been indisputably shown to heat tissue in their vicinity, and just about nothing else.

[bemildred]

2. Yes, the main thing with the microwave is don't stand there looking in.

Give it a couple feet of distance while it's working.

[Igel]

10. Why on earth would anybody wanted a really well-shielded cell phone?

It's rather like saying if bright light hurts your eyes, you should cover the lightbulbs with aluminum foil. Yeah, it keeps all the electromagnetic radiation in, but defeats the purpose of the devices.

(I could point out that the shielding might be frequency-dependent, but since microwave ovens use longer frequencies than wifi, what shields wifi would block microwaves unless you're very, very clever.)

I assume that there is shielding for phones' guts, which must produce some sort of EM signal. They're in a metal case, after all. But the antenna necessarily is unshielded. That could be put in a place where the phone, as usually used, lies between the antenna and skull, but then I'd expect that phone to be highly directional when it comes to reception and transmission.

At the same time, I see a lot of people concerned about EM pollution sitting in a room with good wifi, a dozen wifi devices in addition to a couple dozen cell phones, and even with BlueTooth earsets and headphones for hands-free use.

A few teen purists, though, clamor for some way of connecting their headphones without the use of wifi. "There is one," I respond. "Use wires." They want somebody else much smarter than them to give them some magical technology, like some feudal manor lord in Sweden wanting lamb with fresh blueberries for Xmas dinner.

[jpak]

3. kick

n/t

[pnwmom]

4. "hints" at being "reasonably safe"? I wonder how many hours a week people were using

their phones in this study, as that number has gone up tremendously over the decades.

[FLPanhandle]

6. People probably talk less on their phones than in the past

Many people just text/snapchat/tweet without ever putting the phone to their head anymore. Still, it's less radiation than walking outside on a sunny day.

[hobbit709]

5. We used to nap behind the 50KW transmitter amplifiers on our site in Italy.

I should have had brain cancer 40 years ago according to the woo people.

[FLPanhandle]

7. My father used to tell stories of the first radars installed by the military

People used to go up and tan next to them because they were so powerful.

[edhopper]

8. with billions of cell phones in use

we would see a dramatic rise in cases of brain cancer if there was a connection.

[FLPanhandle]

9. Logic doesn't stop the woo folks though

Nor will any scientific study change their minds. They just know, well....just because.