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Mobile phone radiation has been accused of causing almost every conceivable ailment: brain tumors, cancer, and a weakened immune system are only a few of the dangers that have been linked to the phenomenon, albeit without sound scientific evidence. In a move initiated by the German Green Party, the German government has recently even warned against the dangers of the significantly weaker radiation from wireless networks. Now, a new study has nevertheless concluded that mobile phone radiation has a positive effect on mental function--at least in mice.
A study from American, Japanese, and Chinese scientists casts mobile phone radiation in a new light. In the study, researchers subjected mice to radiation frequencies and intensities typical of mobile phones for one hour every day over the course of nine months. The results were astounding. Mice that were suffering from an Alzheimer's-like disease showed clear improvement after exposure to the radiation, and in mice that were genetically manipulated to develop the Alzheimer's-like disease (but had not yet developed it), the onset of the disease was delayed. What is more, healthy mice exposed to the radiation exhibited improved memory performance.
The molecular basis for Alzheimer's disease is fairly well understood: the main culprit is a peptide known as β-amyloid that forms in the brain with the mutation of certain genes. β-Amyloid is formed from the Amyloid precursor protein APP, which resides in the membranes of braincells, where the enzymes β- and γ-secretase cut APP into smaller pieces. Because of β-amyloid's hydrophobic side chains, the individual peptide molecules begin to form larger structures in the aqueous environment between nerve cells. These structures are the infamous insoluble plaque deposits that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. It is still not well understood why these deposits damage the brain's nerve cells.
The positive effects of mobile phone radiation against Alzheimer's disease seem to be the result of thermal radiation, which helps to dissolve the β-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain. The memory-enhancing effects observed in healthy mice, however, are probably the result of improved blood flow in the brain, which is also caused by the warming effect of mobile phone radiation.
Further reading:
J. Alzh. Dis. 2010, 19, 191: Electromagnetic Field Treatment... (G. W. Arendash et al.)
Spektrum der Wissenschaft (September 2006): Medikamente gegen den Hirnverfall (M. S. Wolfe)
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