Latest Cell Phone-Cancer News: Your Eyes Are Safe

from the today-you're-fine dept

The debate about the cancer-causing effects of cell phones has been rumbling on for years and years, with contradicting studies coming out every so often. The real answer to the question of whether phones give people cancer, at this point, seems to be "nobody really knows yet", so any news one way or the other should be taken with a grain of salt (or two). In any case, the latest study to emerge says mobile phones don't cause eye cancer. Of course, this research contradicts the conclusion of an earlier, smaller study conducted by the same German researchers. So even though they're calling phones safe -- for your eyes, anyway -- the contradiction seems par for the course.
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Filed Under: cancer, eyes, mobile phones


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  • identicon
    Glenn Fleishman, 19 Jan 2009 @ 3:55pm

    Nobody knows?

    'seems to be "nobody really knows yet"'

    I'd have to disagree. All of the large, longitudinal studies that should be able to show some causation have not done so. Earlier studies, especially ones conducted on animals subjected to high doses of sometimes different EMF exposure, have not predicted effects born out with studies involving lots of people and lots of information.

    I am not sanguine that there is zero risk to one's health from constant use of cellular phones, but I also don't believe the jury is still out. The pattern is clear, and more studies continue to be performed.

    The real question is whether when looking at people who have used cell phones extensively for, say, 20 years, a point that soon will be easy to find, will there be a causative, significant pattern that emerges? The studies so far would indicate no, but some problems only show up along very long time frames.

    I also disagree that contradictory studies keep coming out. Smaller studies and one's that don't pass methodological muster have shown some correlation after slicing and dicing data. Very large studies with good methodology are not showing effects.

    Separately, studies examining electrosensitivity have been repeated and performed in better and better manners without finding any connection between those who self-identify as electrosensitive and their ability to sense the existence or non-existence of signals of the type that, outside the lab, they claim to be able to tell whether are present or not.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Alan, 19 Jan 2009 @ 4:38pm

      Re: Nobody knows?

      As time passes, it appears that electrosensitivity is becoming similar to ESP - a lot of people claim to have it, but laboratory testing merely shows results that correlate to random chance. Similarly, over time we can probably expect the 'damage' caused by mobile phones to fall into the same category. After all, it's not as if the human race hasn't been subjected to millions of years exposure to EMF from the sun. Or maybe they'll find that the Aurora Borealis causes cancer...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Zaphod, 19 Jan 2009 @ 4:38pm

    Danger of electromagnetism.

    Would someone please do a study on how many billions of years of cellphone EMF exposure, that the EMF exposure in a 1 hour MRI session causes?

    These tinfoil hat freaks also don't know the earth's magnetic field exerts 100s of times more EMF on the human body by just spinning around once in it's presence.

    This cellphone fear is an asked "probe" that I use to cull the idiots from those I want to listen to in a crowd.

    Kinda like asking people to sign a petition to ban Dihydrogen Monoxide.

    But as far as I am concerned, cellphones are for people who like electronic leashes! You can just call me at home, thank you very much. :D

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 19 Jan 2009 @ 4:55pm

    Background Noise

    What do the following have in common:

    1. Dangers from non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation and/or electric fields
    2. Cold fusion
    3. ESP

    Answer: they've all been researched in study after study, going back decades. Every now and then someone seems to come up with a positive result, but nobody else is able to replicate it. And so it goes.

    In other words, what you're seeing in this continuous trickle of positives is just background noise: with so many studies done, naturally one or two will appear to come up with a result. But as time goes on, the increasingly clear inability to come up with a consistent result should itself be taken as evidence that there is nothing to any of these ideas.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Red, 19 Jan 2009 @ 5:01pm

    Cellphone cancer.

    Cell phones don't cause eye cancer.
    This just in... binoculars don't cause ear cancer.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2009 @ 7:02pm

      Re: Cellphone cancer.

      but if you smack the business end of the binoculars while someone is looking through them, they might cause blindness

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joe Krahn, 19 Jan 2009 @ 7:12pm

    My understanding is that the evidence shows that there is no significant risk from cell phone exposure. Some researchers are still looking for extremely low-level effects, which are almost certainly too insignificant for anyone to worry about.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    docrings, 19 Jan 2009 @ 7:33pm

    Chance of cancer from a cell phone: 1 in a billion

    Chance of dying in a motor vehicle accident THIS YEAR: 1:5000

    And you still throwing back tequila shots like a sailor, eating all that fat & sugar, smoke cigarettes, don't wear a condom, and don't wear your seat belt? ... and you're worried about your frickin' cell phone??!!

    Get a grip, people. Sweat the big stuff, not the minutia!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Jan 2010 @ 8:27am

    df how da it giv u cancer wow

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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