Effects of Radio Waves on Living Organisms

A radio wave is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Other forms include microwaves, visible light waves, X-rays and gamma rays. Radio waves have a low frequency, usually in thousands Hertz, or vibrations per second. These waves are called non-ionizing and are considered incapable of breaking DNA bonds. This implies they do not affect living organisms, however, this is not the case.

A study, "Organisms line up in reply to High Pulsed Range," by The New England Institute for Medical Research showed as far back as 1959 that radio waves affect organisms at the cellular level.

Early Testing

• A simple, yet profound test in 1959 at the New England Institute for Medical Research involved a small organism call Euglena. Three scientists, Dr. John L. Cutler, Dr. John H. Heller and Dr. A.A. Teixeira-Pinto conducted the test. When they sent pulsed radio waves to these organisms, they immediately lined up and began to swim in an exact line along the radio frequency field. They even turned at the end of the path and began a formation swim back. When the scientists increased the frequency, the Euglena instantly flipped 90 degrees in formation and began swimming in the new direction. The experiment went on to prove that particles within cells were controlled by the frequency as well.

  The experiment was then applied to a garlic plant. After only five minutes of exposure to a radio wave field, chromosomes, the heredity-controlling structures, changed, showing aberrations known to be caused by ionizing radiation.

Human Impact

• Cellphones contribute to electromagnetic pollution.

  Electromagnetic radiation is, "a bigger threat to the planet than global warming," says Dr. Robert O. Becker M.D., Director of Orthopedic Surgery at the Veterans Hospital, Syracuse, New York, and author of the book, "The Body Electric," about the dangers of electromagnetic pollution.

  Third World Network, an independent nonprofit international network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to development, reports that complaints of sleep disorders, asthma, hypertension, memory loss, tinnitus and flu-like sicknesses are now more severe in the United States. The increase coincides with the first cell-phone services in major cities.

Industry Considerations

• As of 2000, 95 million Americans began using cell phones daily. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association created a policy to disclose the amount of radiation emitted by different cell-phone brands.

SAR Ratings

• According to the Federal Communications Commission, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) measures radio frequency energy absorbed by the body when using a cell phone. A person may be subjected to potential heat exposure via cell phones. However, there is a distinction between the SAR measures and the 1959 study by the New England Institute for Medical Research, which revealed the problem is not the heat emitted but the radio frequency waves and how they impact the organism's biology.