Brain Tumors in Children and Electromagnetic Radiation exposure

[Guest guest]

Here Dr. Charlie Tia, a preeminent Australian neurosurgeon discusses what

he

believes is a contributing factor to this exponential increase in brain

tumors among children: excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF),

and

electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from mobile phones and other electrical and

electronic equipment and appliances.

 

 

 

(http://store.mercola.com/b/abmc.aspx?b=172 & z=2)

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Few people realize this, but brain cancer has now surpassed leukemia as the

number one cancer killer in children.

Australia has seen an increase in pediatric brain cancers of 21 percent in

just one decade. This is consistent with studies showing a 40 percent brain

 

tumor increase across the board in Europe and the U.K. over the last 20

years.

Today, we are quite literally awash in an invisible sea of radio

frequencies

(RF) and electromagnetic fields (EMF). Sources include home electrical

wiring, electrical appliances such as TVs, electric blankets, electric

alarm

clocks, high tension electrical wires, and certainly mobile phones. More

and more

people are even reporting being _“allergic†to EMF and radio waves_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/06/21/are-you-allergi

c-to-wir

eless-internet.aspx) .

In the video above, Dr. Tia states that for some reason, some people are

more susceptible to the damage caused by EMR and radio frequencies than

others,

but that all _children are at a much greater risk than adults_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/30/children-should

-not-use-cell-p

hones-but-my-today-show-interview-does-not-support-that.aspx) .

But just HOW are electromagnetic fields and information-carrying radio

waves

capable of causing damage in your body?

Radiation 101

 

Radio Frequencies (RF), Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) and X-rays are all

produced by electromagnetic sources, and are part of the electromagnetic

spectrum. The difference between them is the frequency of their source.

Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), which is the number of times a wave

changes direction—by oscillating up and down—per second. 1 Hz, therefore,

means

one wave-cycle per second. 1 megahertz (MHz) equals 1,000,000 Hz

(wave-cycles) per second.

All electromagnetic energy falls somewhere on the electromagnetic spectrum,

ranging from extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation to microwaves, x-rays

and gamma rays.

ELF fields include household appliances and _overhead power lines_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/18/report-links-po

wer-lines-

to-cancer.aspx) . Scientists agree that ELF fields are hazardous to human

health. They are considered ‘probable carcinogens’, and have been linked

to

cases of childhood leukemia, which used to be the biggest cancer killer

among

children – until now.

It’s a proven fact that at extremely high frequencies, like that of x-rays,

the electromagnetic waves have enough force to damage ionic and covalent

bonds and damage DNA and other human tissue. This is known as ionizing

radiation.

Since X-rays have the power to damage the genetic material of cells, they

can lead to cancer and birth defects—which is why you wear a lead vest

during

x-rays to protect the surrounding areas from unnecessary damage.

At lower frequencies, such as the microwave range used by mobile phones and

base stations, the energy emitted is too low to damage chemical bonds

(non-ionizing radiation). This is the primary argument used by those who

believe

that cell phone radiation is completely harmless and choose to live in

ignorant

bliss and refuse to change their unhealthy behavior.

Although extremely low frequencies (ELF’s emitted from appliances and power

lines) and extremely high frequencies (ultraviolet and gamma rays) are

known

to be carcinogenic, the scientific community is extremely hesitant to

attach

any kind of danger to the in-between frequencies where cell phones

operate.

 

ALWAYS Remember How Truth Evolves

I think it is important to stop and remind you how nearly every scientific

advance evolves through the system: As I’ve said before, change is

inevitable,

and truth generally wins out in the end.

I believe Arthur Schopenhauer said it best when he declared that all truths

go through three phases:

* First, it is ridiculed

* Second, it is violently opposed

* Finally, it is accepted as self-evident

So it is not at all surprising that most all “experts†refute the

increasing evidence that is coming forth. Please remember that they also

did this

with cigarettes.

“Can You Hear Me Now?†– Modulated Radio Waves are All Around You

The transmitter in your phone operates on about 0.75 watt (or much less, if

you're close to a base station) to 1 watt of power, with 2 W at peak usage.

This electric current running through the transmitter circuit also creates

an

electromagnetic field around it. As the electric current moves back and

forth, the fields continue to build and collapse, forming electromagnetic

radiation.

Thus, cell phone radiation is generated in the transmitter, and is emitted

through the antenna in the form of radio waves. In the case of cell phones,

the frequencies of these radio waves fall in the low microwave range.

Most experts base their cell phone safety recommendations on the basic

sinusoidal wave, also known as a “carrier signal. " However, what they fail

to

recognize is that the danger does not come just from the carrier wave but

also

from a modulated signal that actually carries the data or your voice, which

operates at a different frequency than the carrier signal.

 

The problem is that many of your body’s processes also operate in this

frequency range.

In fact, your cells are loaded with receptors that specifically respond to

these signals. So when you are exposed to these information carrying radio

waves, the receptors are stimulated. Once that happens the delicate

microtubular

connections between your cells become impaired.

These crucial intercellular connections are responsible for communication

between your cells. Once they start to fail, your cells “lock up†and

retain

far more heavy metals and free radicals, which can wreak havoc in your

body.

One of the main concerns associated with cell phone use is that the phone

is

pressed to your head. Since electromagnetic radiation shoots out—at the

speed of light—in all directions, this radiation can penetrate into your

brain.

And, as I discussed in another recent article, _Cancer Institute Warns of

Cell Phone Risks_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/12/cancer-institut

e-warns-of-cell-phone-risks.aspx) , electromagnetic radiation

can penetrate almost straight through the entire brain of a 5-year old

child.

 

Newer Technology More Harmful Than Older Ones

Making matters worse, modern Digital Service and PCS cell phones—as opposed

to analog cell phones—have two additional low frequency magnetic fields

associated with them.

“Time division multiple access†(TDMA), is one of the systems currently

used to increase the number of people who can communicate simultaneously

with a

base station. The process of TDMA results in a continuous low frequency

pulsing at 8 to 34 Hz. Some phones also have the energy-saving

discontinuous

transmission mode (DTX), which emits yet a third, even lower frequency that

pulses

at 2 Hz when the user is listening and not speaking.

Since extremely low frequency radiation (ELF) has been shown to cause cancer

—

like leukemia—these additional ELF’s raise new questions.

Many warn that our current technology is in fact far more dangerous in this

 

respect than previous analog models.

How Information-Carrying Radio Waves Impact Your Body

Although cell phone radiation is of low intensity, it is the oscillatory

similarity between this pulsed microwave radiation and certain

electrochemical

activities within your body that raises serious concerns, according to the

study _Physics and biology of mobile telephony_

(http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673600032438/fulltex

t) , published in The Lancet.

Your body is essentially a very sensitive electromagnetic instrument,

controlled by highly complex and orderly oscillatory electrical processes.

Each one

of these electro-biological processes vibrate at a specific frequency—some

of which happen to be close to those used in modern GSM cell phone

technology.

The pulsating, low-intensity microwaves from mobile phones can exert

subtle,

non-thermal influences on the human biology simply because microwaves are

waves. As such, they have properties other than just intensity (which is

the

only part regulated by safety guidelines).

Therefore, much in the same way as a radio can receive interference, your

biological processes can be interfered with by the oscillatory aspect of

the

incoming radiation.

Highly organized electrical processes at the cellular level are especially

vulnerable to interference from cell phone radiation, because their

frequency

happens to fall within the microwave range.

Many of these biological activities are influenced by your metabolism,

meaning the effect of the radiation will be different from one person to

another.

 

The effect could also depend on the type of cell phone used, as different

cell phones emit radiation at different frequencies.

Ultra-low intensity microwaves can affect processes as fundamental as cell

division, and the TDMA frequencies of 8-34 Hz, and the DTX pulse frequency

at

2 Hz, correspond to the frequencies of alpha and delta brain waves.

Therefore, your body has a two-fold sensitivity to cellular phone signals:

1. The microwave radiation itself, plus

2. The lower frequency oscillations of the TDMA and DTX signals.

 

 

In addition to that, there’s also the packet rate of newer 3G phones, which

is 250 Hz. One good example of how someone may be vulnerable to the

non-thermal electromagnetic influence is the ability of a flashing light

(at about 15

Hz) to induce seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. It’s not the

 

energy absorption itself that causes the seizure. Rather it’s because the

brain recognizes the information being transmitted via the pulsating light,

since it’s delivered at a frequency your brain uses.

How Tissue Damage Can Occur Without Heat

In 2004, a Swedish physicist named Bo Sernelius, stumbled across a

_surprising finding_ (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4855)

that suggests

non-thermal mobile phone radiation can cause a massive increase in the

forces that living cells exert on each other. He discovered that

electromagnetic

forces might act on cells by affecting the attractive forces between them,

without thermal heating.

How?

Water molecules have poles of positive and negative electrical charge that

create attractive forces between cells, known as van der Waals forces.Van

der

Waals forces are much weaker than chemical bonds. And, whereas chemical

bonds

need high frequency ionizing radiation in order to break, van der Waals

forces are disrupted by much smaller thermal fluctuations. These

intermolecular

forces may be weak, but without them, life as we know it would be

impossible.

 

Sernelius found that the water molecules inside cells will try to align

their positive and negative poles with the alternating field produced by

cell

phone radiation. The result? They all end up pointing in the same

direction, and

this strengthens the van der Waals forces.

In the fields of 850 MHz (around the frequency used by mobile phones), the

van der Waals forces leap—from a billionth-billionth of a Newton, to micro

Newton strength—a massive jump of around 11 orders of magnitude.

Although it’s still only theoretical, this may be the missing link when

trying to explain tissue damage from non-ionizing, non-thermal radiation.

Stronger attractive forces between cells can also make them clump together,

and

cause blood vessels to contract.

Why Children are More Susceptible to Damage

 

A 2006 _study performed by the University of Helsinki in Finland_

(http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content?content=10.1080/09553000600840922)

, found

that EMF from mobile phones at 902 MHz has an adverse effect on children’s

memory and recognition, when measured by EEG.

Preadolescent children are particularly vulnerable because absorption of

GSM

microwaves is greatest in an object about the size of a child’s head, due

to

the “head resonance†effect. This is also why 900 MHz cordless phones are

not safe, even though they aren’t transmitting all the time.

Radiation can also penetrate the thinner skull of an infant much more

easily, which is why wireless baby monitors are such a menace, and should

be

avoided as well.

Additionally, the repetition frequencies of the TDMA and the DTX lie in the

range of the alpha and delta brainwaves respectively. In a child, the alpha

waves don’t replace delta waves as a stable activity until they’re about

12

years old.

Children’s immune systems are also degraded by this kind of radiation,

making them more susceptible to illnesses of ALL kinds.

I’ve written more and more about this issue over the past two years,

including an entire book on the subject, which is due out in 2009, as I

truly

believe this is a public health disaster waiting to be unleashed – much

_like

smoking turned out to be_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/03/26/cell-phones.asp

x) .

For my best recommendations on how to protect yourself and your children,

please see this _link_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/12/cancer-institut

e-warns-of-cell-phone-risks.aspx) .

 

 

Related Articles:

 

_Great Example Why You Simply Can't Believe That Cell Phones Are Safe_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/03/great-example-w

hy-you

-simply-can-t-believe-that-cell-phones-are-safe.aspx)

 

_Why Your Cell Phone Can Hurt Your Children_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/07/why-your-cell-p

hone-can-hurt-your-children.aspx)

 

 

_How Cellphone Radiation Affects Your Cells_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/03/18/how-cellphone-r

adiation-affects-your-cells.aspx

)

 

 

 

 

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