Cellphones 'alter proteins'

2008-02-13 12:00

Helsinki, Finland - Research indicates that protein in human cells might be altered when subjected to radiation from cellphones, but the health effects of such radiation were unclear, Finnish officials said on Tuesday.

The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority subjected a small area of skin on the forearms of 10 female volunteers to cellphone radiation - otherwise known as radio frequency modulated electromagnetic fields, or RF-EMF - for one hour.

Biopsies from exposed skin showed alterations not seen in similar biopsies on non-exposed skin, the report said.

"Mobile phone radiation has some biological effect," said Dariusz Leszczynski, an agency researcher. "Even if the changes are small, they still exist."

But, Leszczynski said, the study did not indicate any possible health hazards and was conducted to find out only if living human skin responds to cellphone radiation. Earlier studies have been conducted on cells taken from people.

The study, published on Monday in the online journal BMC Genomics, said that analysis of 580 proteins identified eight proteins that were affected.

The agency claimed it was the first study showing that "molecular level changes might take place in human volunteers in response to exposure to RF-EMF", describing it as "globally unique".

The agency plans a more extensive study in 2009, with 50 to 100 volunteers.

- AP