New Study Casts Further Doubt on Health Risks from Weak
Magnetic Fields
For nearly 40 years, there have been fears among some
segments of the public that there was somehow a tie-in between the magnetic
fields created by cell phones, power transmission lines and radio transmitters
and diseases such as leukemia. The FCC has even issued strict guidelines
limiting exposure to RF fields, even though there has never been a conclusive
study showing a cause-and-effect relationship, and no mechanism connecting
magnetic fields and human illness has ever been found.
Now, a new study by England's Manchester Institute of
Biotechnology - published in December's Journal of the Royal Society - has
apparently ruled out one of the prime candidates. The website MedicalXpress.com
reports that the team from Manchester studied the effects of weak magnetic
fields, or WMFs, on flavoproteins, a class of proteins responsible for a
variety of vital functions in the body. Their research showed "no
detectable impact" of WMFs on flavoprotein functioning. One of the paper's
authors said that while more work needs to be done on other possible links,
"this study definitely takes us nearer to the point where we can say that
power lines, mobile phones and other similar devices are likely to be safe for
humans." (TNX WA5VJB)
