Cell phones radiation unharmful (say Japanese mobile ops)

[Colin Dunstan]

The topic whether cell phone radiation has a negative biological effect on human cells is controversial, and every other day we hear different opinions from "experts" on the field. So far there is no real scientific evidence for or against. Experts hired by Japanese mobile phone operators (yes, right!) are now claiming that radio frequency energy from mobile phone base stations does not affect human cells.

Using four human cell lines, two containing established infant and fetal fibroblast cells and two containing cerebral tumor tissues, and examining about 20,000 genes in the human genome (approximately 40,000 genes have been identified), researchers found no effect on cell proliferation, gene expression profile or DNA single-strand breaks. The results seem to indicate the safety of radio waves, as the radio waves used in the experiment were up to 10 times stronger than the limit set forth in radio frequency radiation protection guidelines for base stations.

What I surmise: Although there isn't any hard evidence to show mobile phones damage health yet, I would not sleep with a cell phone under my pillow.