cell phones and eye damage?????

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  ISRAELI RESEARCH:
  CELL PHONE RADIATION MAY CAUSE VISUAL DAMAGE

        In a recent scientific study conducted by a team of researchers from
the Technion, a possible link between microwave radiation, similar to the
type found in cellular phones, and different kinds of damage to the visual
system was found. At least one kind of damage seems to accumulate over time
and not heal, challenging the common view and leading the researchers to the
assertion that the duration of exposure is not less important than the
intensity of the irradiation. The researchers also emphasized that existing
exposure guidelines for microwave radiation might have to change.

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


              Microscope photographs of lenses incubated in organ culture
conditions for 12 days. Right frame shows Control lens with no damage.
Bottom frame demonstrates the effect of microwave radiation on bovine lens
sutures for a total exposure of 192 cycles (1.1GHz, 2.22mW).Each cycle lasts
50min followed by 10 min pause. In the absence of microwave radiation, the
bubbles are generated by temperature increase to 39.5 8C during 4 h; see
left frame.
             
        The effects of exposure to electromagnetic radiation have long been
a subject for debate among scientists. The technological developments of the
last twenty years such as cell and cordless phones, wireless communications,
monitors and even high voltage lines have all been studied as potential risk
factors for cancer and other diseases. Less known to the public, but still a
matter of some extensive research, is the study of the effect of microwave
radiation on the visual system and especially on the lens of the eye. The
basic motivation for this research came after World War II when it was
suspected that radar operators suffered a greater risk of developing
cataracts (a condition characterized by clouding in the natural lens of the
eye). Although these particular suspicions were eventually shown to be
debatable, they were the trigger for the first guidelines for exposure to
electromagnetic radiation. Moreover, the eye as our natural radiation
detector is the obvious choice for investigating the effects of
electromagnetic radiation upon the human body.





              The electromagnetic system exposing four eye lenses to
electromagnetic radiation Each vessel containing a lens, inserted between
the two plates of the transmission line. The entire system is placed in an
incubator maintaining constant temperature for the duration of exposure.
             
        In more recent studies on animals the effects of microwave radiation
as a risk factor for cataracts have been established and have helped
determine the guidelines put forth by the International Commission on
Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in 1998. A common measure for
microwave radiation is the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) which is the
average power density absorbed in a given volume per average weight density
(Watt/Kg). This is the standard used by cell phone companies, among others,
to measure levels of radiation. When microwave energy impinges upon body
tissue, part of it is absorbed and converted to heat due to ionic
conduction. This heat manifests itself as a temperature increase inside the
tissue. Past studies in animals have shown that even a slight increase in
temperature close to the lens (as low as 3 degrees Celsius) can increase the
risk of developing a cataract. With a low enough SAR the local temperature
in the lens might never increase to that level. A less common measure is
called Specific Energy Absorption (SA), and is defined as the energy density
absorbed in the tissue divided by its weight density. While SAR is the
measure of the rate microwave radiation is absorbed by a tissue, SA is the
measure of the total energy absorbed. This difference played a significant
role in a recently published study on the effects of microwave radiation on
the visual system.

        In the study conducted by researchers in the Rappaport Faculty of
Medicine at the Technion, and published in the journal Bioelectromagnetics,
a new link has been found between microwave radiation and the development of
cataracts. Eye lenses of one-year-old male calves obtained from a
slaughterhouse were exposed to microwave radiation - one eye from each pair
used for control. Each exposure session lasted about two weeks. Both control
and exposed lens were kept in an incubator at a constant temperature. During
this period each exposed lens had experienced up to 2mW of 1.1GHz radiation
virtually around the clock, and each hour it was exposed for a 50 minute
session followed by a 10 minute break. During one of these breaks, every 24
hours, it was tested optically and compared to the control lens. During the
short (5 minutes) optical test, the lens was not exposed to radiation, but
when exposed, its average temperature was maintained constant in an
incubator.





                    Good quality lens as demonstrated by the optical
scanner. All rays passing Through the lens have similar focal length. The
thick dashed line connects the points of the back vertex Distance for each
ray passing through the lens. The thick solid line shows the relative
intensity of each beam.


                    Exposed lens, showing considerable variability in the
focal length of the beams passing through the lens.
                   
              The experiment yielded a number of interesting results:
              1. Exposing the lens for a prolonged time to microwave
radiation (in the frequency and intensity described above) caused
macroscopic damage affecting the optical quality of the lens. This damage
increased as the experiment and irradiation continued and reached a maximum
level after a number of days. When the exposure stopped the optical damage
began to heal gradually. Interestingly enough, a similar maximum level was
observed when the irradiation intensity was reduced to one-half the
original, except that it took twice the time.
              2. On the microscopic level a different kind of damage
occurred. Tiny "bubbles" were created on the surface of the lens. The
bubbles were formed by irradiation with microwave and were not the result of
a heat created throughout the lens. The researchers have speculated that the
mechanism responsible for the creation of the bubbles is microscopic
friction between particular cells exposed to electromagnetic radiation.
Contrary to the macroscopic damage, the microscopic damage did not show any
signs of healing and continued to accumulate during the course of the
experiment.
             



              Professor Levi Schächter
             
        Although the researchers are cautious about interpreting the results
of the experiment and its possible implications to public health, it seems
that prolonged exposure to microwave radiation similar to that used by
cellular phones can lead to both macroscopic and microscopic damage to the
lens and that at least part of this damage seems to accumulate over time and
does not seem to heal. Professor Levi Schächter, who worked on the research,
told IsraCast that attention should be paid not only to the Specific
Absorption Rate (SAR) but also to the total energy absorbed by the tissue
(SA), which is not currently under supervision by the appropriate regulative
authorities. Implying that the duration of exposure is not less important
than the intensity of the irradiation.


-- 
forest
forest-iZjTC86gYAlqvOwRj+kr0A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.lavazone2.com/forest/


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