Cell Tower Radiation Linked to Genetic Changes in Nearby Residents

Cell Tower Radiation Linked to Genetic Changes in Nearby Residents
More Chromosomal Aberrations
A Finding Too Hot To Handle
microwavenews.com, 1st July 2024

Senior European scientists are reporting that people living near cell phone towers show significant changes in their genetic makeup. This is the first time that chronic exposure to cell tower radiation has been linked to unrepairable genetic damage.

A team led by Wilhelm Mosgöller of the Medical University of Vienna and Igor Belyaev of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava contend that years of low-dose RF exposure can increase the incidence of a number of different types of chromosomal aberrations. Such changes could lead to serious, though uncertain, health consequences, including cancer and neurological disease. (Chromosomes are strands of DNA coiled around proteins.)

The new study is small —but provocative. It’s persuaded Mosgöller and Belyaev that they may have identified a “biologically plausible mechanism” for how RF radiation can cause cancer.

This is all spelled out in a paper which was posted online on May 30 in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, a peer-reviewed journal. It’s open access.

Assessing Genetic Damage

The research team recruited 24 healthy adults with homes in rural Germany. Half lived near a mobile phone base station transmitting LTE/GSM signals at frequencies below 2.5 GHz. They were compared to 12 others, similar in most respects except for their proximity to the tower.

Blood samples were taken from the participants and were assayed for oxidative stress, DNA breaks and chromosomal damage in Belyaev’s lab in Bratislava. A double-blind protocol was followed to guard against potential biases.

The most notable finding is a statistically significant higher incidence of chromosomal aberrations among those living near the tower —the link held for exposures based on both RF measurements and distance from the transmitters.

DNA breaks and oxidative stress were found to be elevated, but neither change reached statistical significance. (Single-strand DNA breaks were significantly higher.) Mosgöller maintains that they could lead to chromosomal damage over the long-term. “It accumulates slowly over time because natural processes cannot repair a broken chromosome,” Mosgöller told me in an extended interview. “The chromosomal aberrations may only become clearly visible after years of exposure.”

Continue reading:
https://www.microwavenews.com/news-center/cell-tower-radiation-linked-genetic-changes-nearby-residents

Link to study:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324005621