* Rat Brain Damage After ONE Cell Phone Exposure - Cost of Losing Yellowstone (21/9/03)

Rat Brain Damage After ONE Cell Phone Exposure

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Protecting Our Health Cell
Phones Cause Damage To Rat Brains
Protecting Our Health.org
9-19-3

Salford, LG, AE Brun, JL Eberhardt, L Malmgren and BRR Persson. 2003.
Nerve cell damage in mammalian brain after exposure to microwaves from
GSM mobile phones. Environmental Health Perspectives 111:881-883.
 
Salford et al. document serious neuronal damage in rat brains following
exposure to microwave radiation from a cell phone, at levels comparable
to what people would experience during normal use. Damage to nerve cells
was observed in several places within the brain, including the cortex,
hippocampus and basal ganglia. It was associated with evidence of
leakage of proteins through the blood-brain barrier. The authors express
concern that "after some decades of (often) daily use, a whole
generation of [cell phone] users may suffer negative effects, perhaps as
early as middle age."
 
In a companion news story in the issue of Environmental Health
Perspectives in which the research is published, the journal comments:
"It might be time to get serious about using your headset when talking
on your mobile phone and encouraging your family members to do the
same."
 
What did they do? Salford et al. exposed rats to microwave radiation
from a GSM cell phone, varying the intensity of radiation across a range
that would be experienced by mobile phone users. The rats were contained
within plastic trays inside a specially constructed wooden box that
allowed free movement, other than to prevent direct contact with the
source of radiation. One set of animals was placed in the box without
turning on the transmitter; they served as a control group. The others
were exposed to peak power densities of 0.24, 2.4 and 24 Watts/square
meter (which translates to 2 milliWatts per kg, 20 mW/kg and 200 mW/kg,
respectively). Each group contained 8 animals.
 
After a 50-day waiting period, during which the rats were monitored for
behavioral abnormalities, Salford et al. killed the animals, carefully
removed their brains, and studied them by applying stains and albumin
antibodies that allowed detection of abnormalities.
 
What did they find? As expected, both control and experimental animals
had albumin within the hypothalamus. This is normal.
 
Exposed animals, however, were much more likely to have albumin leaking
from blood vessels in inappropriate locations.
 
A closer look at the cells within the brain revealed that exposed
animals had "scattered and grouped dark neurons... often shrunken.. with
loss of internal cell structures." These altered neurons were seen in
all locations, but "especially the cortex, hippocampus and basal
ganglia."
 
What does it mean? Most of the public debate about possible health
effects of microwave radiation from cell phones has focused on cancer.
While debate about this continues, most studies, including by Salford's
research team, have had negative results.
 
This work focuses on a different mechanism which had been identified by
earlier authors (e.g., Oscar and Hawkins 1977) but not pursued
vigorously: increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier. These
results cleary establish an adverse impact at levels within the range
experienced by people using cell phones.
 
According to these scientists, "intense use of mobile phones by
youngsters is a serious consideration. A neuronal damage of the kind
described here may not have immediate, demonstrable consequences, even
if repeated. In the long run, however, it may result in reduced brain
reserve capacity that might be unveiled by other later neuronal disease
or even the wear and tear of aging.
 
We cannot exclude that after some decades of (often) daily use, a whole
generation of users may suffer negative effects, perhaps as early as in
middle age."
 
That is a cautious way of saying that Salford and his team of scientists
are very concerned about the possible human impacts of cell phone use.
Indeed, as noted above, the journal in which these results were
published, Environmental Health Perspectives (the journal of the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), went so far as to
recommend using headsets.
 
http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/learning/2003/2003-0129salfordetal.htm

Source: http://www.rense.com/general41/rat.htm

and

Cost of Losing Yellowstone
---------------------------
Although it's a long shot to happen in the next few days, over a longer
period of time, there's a good chance that Yellowstone will blow its top
and the simmering caldera will let rip with Mt. St. Helen's (or greater)
magnitude.  I've been watching this sort of out of the corner of one eye
because if or when the Yellowstone Park area goes in any kind of massive
eruption, the impacts on food supplies worldwide will be horrible.  The
plume area from Yellowstone covers a good-sized chunk of the Midwest.

Reader reports and items which we have picked up off news groups are
sounding pretty scary.  Areas are being closed off, there are reports of
dead animals and even fish are reported dying off in large numbers.
Against this background, the USGS says there is an increase in
government monitoring, such as a recent news release that says in part:

"In response to notably increased heat and steam emissions in parts of
Norris Geyser Basin, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory will deploy a
temporary network of seismographs, Global Positioning System (GPS)
receivers, and temperature loggers. The temporary deployment is intended
to document chemical and physical signals that accompany this increased
activity, to identify the underground locations of hydrothermal steam
sources and the relationship of the Norris geyser basin to the
background general seismicity, and crustal  deformation of the
Yellowstone caldera. It may also detect any precursory signals to geyser
eruptions and hydrothermal explosions.

A reader sends in this interesting compilation, which augments other
reports we have had: "fish are floating dead in the streams, and the
lake is closed. A very strong smell of H2SO4 (sulfur). People were
leaving due to smell --- He also mentioned that the Seismo sites had
been shut down" and "there is a large dead zone of animals and
vegetation. Immediately outside this dead zone, vegetation has stopped
growing and animals are migrating out of the area.

New geysers and mud pots are springing up daily. You can physically see
the ground bulging up, not only at Yellowstone Lake, but in several
places in the park" enclosed are 2 brief reports on this matter.

1. First report

Yellowstone is worse than we thought --The husband of my daughter's
social studies teacher is staying at the Crow Reservation in Montana,
100 miles from Yellowstone. He said that over and above everything we
have heard to date (which he says is absolutely true), there is a large
dead zone of animals and vegetation. Immediately outside this dead zone,
vegetation has stopped growing and animals are migrating out of the
area. New geysers and mud pots are springing up daily. You can
physically see the ground bulging up, not only at Yellowstone Lake, but
in several places in the park. They have closed more areas to the public
than is being reported. There are several areas where the ground
temperature tops 200 degrees. And earthquakes are becoming a daily
occurrence.

 
2. Second report

Anonymous warning from visitor to Yellowstone
Tue Sep 2 2003 3:10:31 pm
From: Scorpio

Subject: Yellowstone-Problems?

Hello folks, next door neighbor just got back from a weeks stay in
Yellowstone. we talked and I was told a lot more camping areas have been
closed off besides around the Lake. he is an avid fisherman, said the
fish are floating dead in the streams, and the lake is closed. A very
strong smell of H2SO4 (sulfur) People were leaving due to smell --- He
also mentioned that the Seismo sites had been shut down!??????

Did some homework on Utah and Montana sites YEP---- looks like things
are not being updated after Aug 29-30-----Can anyone confirm?? Anyone
out there near Yellowstone that might be able to fill us in?

Your Thoughts Folks???? Scorpio


Well, you might want to bookmark the Yellowstone recent quakes map at
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/index.html so you won't
have to search for it if the area pops off shortly. 

The other thing to consider is how the economy of Wyoming and the
surrounding states will do should the area become explosively active.
Yellowstone tourism and trade contributes directly about 15% of Wyoming
economic activity. A series of major quakes, explosions, and volcanic
activity could put this event in the class of a "supervolcano".  As one
post I found put it:

"When Yellowstone goes off again, and it will, it will be a disaster for
the United States and eventually, for the whole world. We volcanologists
believe it would all begin with the magma chamber becoming unstable.
Observations would begin by seeing bigger earthquakes, greater uplifting
as magma intrudes and gets nearer and nearer the surface.  An earthquake
may send a rupture through a brittle layer similar to breaking the lid
off a pressure cooker.  This would generate sheets of magma, which will
perhaps rise up to 30, 40 or 50 kilometers sending gigantic amounts of
debris into the atmosphere. Pyroclastic flows would cover the whole
region, killing tens of thousands of people in the surrounding area.

The ash carried in the atmosphere and deposited over vast areas of the
United States would have devastating effects.  A plume of material that
goes up into the atmosphere, globally, from the eruption would produce
the climatic effects. This would spread worldwide and have a cooling
effect that would most likely destroy the growing season on a global
scale.

As Dr. Ted Nield, of the Geological Society of London, stated once,
"When a supervolcano goes off, it is an order of magnitude greater than
a normal eruption. It produces energy equivalent to an impact with a
comet or an asteroid."  "You can try diverting an asteroid, but there is
nothing at all you can do about a supervolcano."

The eruption will throw out cubic kilometers of rock, ash, dust, sulfur
dioxide and so on into the upper atmosphere, where it will reflect
incoming solar radiation, forcing down temperatures on the earth's
surface.  It would be the equivalent of a nuclear winter.  The effects
would last for four or five years with crops failing and the whole
ecosystem breaking down."

http://messagequotes.8m.net/Two%20geological%20time%20bombs.doc


Informant: Klaus H. Mueller

--------

Comments from Ross Adey and Henry Lai on French/Blood study
------------------------------------------------------------

Back in July 2003 I send a file copy of the Peter French/Alan Blood
mobile phone research paper to both Ross Adey and Henry Lai for possible
comments. Their replies were received  soon after which I then sent on
to Microwave News for Louis Slesin to deal with. Unfortunately however
as Microwave News is now closed down for the remainder of this year I
have decided to send out a slightly abbreviated version of the Adey and
Lai comments FYI.

Don


MESSAGE SENT TO BOTH ROSS ADEY AND HENRY LAI IN JUNE:

Dear ----------

You may be interested in the attached paper by Peter French and Allan
Blood. It is causing a bit of controversy over here as Dr. French stated
on the national TV "60 Minutes" program that his study" certainly
provides some comfort that the risk of adverse health effects from
mobile phone use is likely to be very low, if at all."

The media PR boys are now pushing it for all its worth, calling it a
worlds-first study that says mobile phones are safe.

After my reading of the paper, rather than being a worlds-first study I
consider it as just another minor footnote in a long history of
inconclusive studies.

Regards

Don Maisch

REPLY FROM ROSS ADEY:

24 Jul 2003 22:36:51 GMT

Dear Don:

Were it not that I consider you a careful and responsible reporter, I
would not be taking time for what must be a foreshortened response.

Peter Finch shows a desperate lack of multidisciplinary knowledge
essential to the correct performance of these latest experiments.

How else to interpret the statement that "The exposure system is of the
TEM cell design, which gives a homogeneous exposure over all the cell
cultures"? This is simply untrue. Beginning in the early 1990s, and
involving first a super-computer simulation at the University of
Michigan, followed by extensive experimental measurements by Kuster's
group at the Swiss National Technological University in Zurich, there
are major field discrepancies introduced by proximity to the TEM cell
walls, by the size and shape of the cell culture vessels, by the depth
of the cell culture fluid, and by the orientation of the cultures with
respect to the e-plane (electric field) within the cell.

This is simply outrageous.

A major aspect of Peter Finch's hypothesis relates to the possible role
of heat shock proteins. Why, then, is there not a single mention of the
benchmark pioneering studies (with positive results widely published in
outstanding peer-reviewed journals) on mechanisms of 60 Hz magnetic
field stimulation of heat shock protein production by Riba Goodman,
Martin Blank and their colleagues, including consideration of relevant
biochemical pathways?

Is Peter Finch's scientific reading limited to the Sydney Morning
Herald, or the Australian, or other pernicious elements of the Murdoch
press?

Finally, there is the all-important question of intermittency of
exposure, measured in minutes, not hours or days. May I remind you that
an integral aspect of our life term rat brain tumor study that
successfully showed a TDMA (North American Digital Cellular code, 50
pulses/sec,30% duty cycle) field-induced reduction in both spontaneous
and drug-induced central nervous tumors used a protocol of 7.5 min
ON/7.5 min OFF in a 2-hr daily exposure. Parenthetically, the importance
of this finding, consistent with epigenetic cancer models, is the
finding of an interaction with the field, not whether there was an
increase OR a decrease in tumor numbers.

Studies from Rudiger's lab in the University of Vienna have shown a
modulation of single- and double-DNA trend breaks in primary human
fibroblast cultures exposed to either 50 Hz magnetic fields or to GSM
mobile phone fields. A critical aspect of these studies exemplifying the
importance of intermittent exposure was a protocol of 5 min ON/10 min
OFF. The US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is
currently engaged in selecting such a scheme of intermittent exposure
for a planned life term rat study.

Peter Finch makes no reference to this work. It is therefore not
surprising that he has also overlooked benchmark studies from Harvard by
Murphy et al, showing how the intracellular Ras enzyme is activated by
cell membrane surface MAP (mitogen-activated protein kinases) ERK1 and
ERK2 in a time-dependent manner, switching between signaling cell
differentiation or cell proliferation, if the surface stimulating signal
changes from a few minutes to 30-45 minutes. Other recent work at
Cambridge  by Michael Berridge and Martin Bootman  (Bootman is also
engaged in mobile phone research for the British Govt) identifies
calcium as the "driver" controlling cellular cyclicities with durations
from microseconds to hours. I might mention here that our team was the
first to define a critical role for calcium in EM field interactions 30
years  ago.

For Peter Finch to conclude that his experiments have adequately
considered the key questions outlined above is ludicrous and
irresponsible. We may say with Hamlet to the grave digger, "There are
more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than dreamt of in your
philosophy!" Or better yet, in G.B Shaw's immortal words from Major
Barbara, "What price salvation now?"  Or I could be crudely accurate in
my Australian dialect which I still hold preciously, "Why don't you get
the hell out of here and stay out?" Those of us who have suffered so
much for so many years from the media ripples generated by the
pronouncements of the dubiously qualified are now determined to do our
best to stamp them out at source.

I attach two recent short updates and revisions that I have prepared for
the International Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, 3rd Edition, Elsevier,
London. As sources of recent research literature on EM field interaction
with the central nervous system, perhaps you may find them useful. As a
separate note, I will send you a recent book chapter summarizing he
time-dendence literature.

With my best wishes - Ross


REPLY FROM HENRY LAI:

Fri, 25 Jul 2003 10:43:46 EDT

Status: U

Hi Don,

Thanks for forwarding Peter's paper. In my opinion, the research is
incomplete and preliminary. Apparently, the experiment was run only
once. There were actually some effects. He also made the wrong
comparisons between treatment groups. He needs to compare the exposed
groups with the sham group, not the control group. I also doubt that the
exposure system and procedures he used are good even though he gave no
details on the system. For example, proper temperature control, gas
mixture for the samples in the TEM cell, and it is difficult to get
uniform exposure in a Falcon flask (I hope they considered the meniscus
problem when they did the calculation). Anyway, I think it is way
premature to go on national TV to talk about the data he has in hand.

Henry Lai

--------

No real progress can be made.

------------------------------
It seems to me that no real progress can be made in gauging the effects
of EMF upon humans until there is a fuller understanding of the body's
electrical system, and that is precisely what I hope my book "Brain
Speed and the Body Electric" can do.

While EMF researchers have long been looking for connections between EMF
energy and health problems, certainly a worthy effort, I have been
primarily concerned with cognitive effects.

One difference between the two focuses is that health effects could take
years to manifest themselves, while cognitive effects are established, I
believe, the effort to find health effects will intensity.

EMF interfere with the brain function. This type for energy slows down
nerve conduction. That is the key point. This means that every
quantifiable, measurable brain activity (verbal, computational,
reasoning, creativity, etc.) slows down. In short, one becomes dumber.
Reaction time - a vital sign as important as temperature, blood
pressure, etc. - definitely slows down and university-level research
should soon make this clear.

Contact with a cell phone greatly increases the negative electrical
charge on the human body and drives off the counterbalancing positive
charge.

Thanks for all the great work you do with your EMF network.

Sincerely,

Jim Protsman
P.O. Box 381
Manitowoc WI 54220
http://brainspeed.net

Omega: see also http://tinyurl.com/o1q2 and
http://www.grn.es/electropolucio/omega214.htm

--------

Re: Genuine appeal for help again something that is destroying me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Maureen,

I think about your symptoms that you are simply becoming
electrosensitive.

This is perhaps a form of allergy and even a cross allergy between
electromagnetic fields and some chemical products (pesticides,
medications or heavy metals). You must first let take measurements in
your mouth between metallic alloys. Many dentists do not believe in this
fact, but sometimes such metal couplings give a battery effect (up to
1000 millivolts) in the mouth and are exciting face nerves (trigeminus).
The only change of the more active metal can bring the suppression of
the symptoms. This is the first thing to do.

Sincerely yours, J.M. Danze

--------

Argentina's GM Woes
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/AGMW.php

--------

We are facing death in Iraq for no reason
A serving US soldier calls for the end of an occupation based on lies.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4759.htm

Bring The Home Now!
Is a campaign of military families, veterans, active duty personnel,
reservists and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq and galvanized
to action by George W. Bush's inane and reckless challenge to armed
Iraqis resisting occupation to "Bring 'em on."
http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/

Kennedy Calls Case For War A "Fraud"
Senator also accuses Bush of bribing foreign leaders.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4753.htm

The brainwashing of Americans
Utter Lies First, Correct Later: Diplomacy, Neocon-Style
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4754.htm

Saddam and 9/11: On The Record
Critics say administration has allowed misconception to persist. Here
are some of those statements:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4752.htm

Americans Know They Have Gone Well Past The Point Of No Return
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=97923

Pride and Prejudices
http://www.msnbc.com/news/969219.asp?0dm=N21KN

Republicans Want Iraq to Share Costs of Rebuilding
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraqmoney19sep19,1,7434642.story


Messages from Information Clearing House

--------

Mistakes of Vietnam War Repeated with Iraq War
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/newsArticle.asp?id=1112

Protests Grow Over Year-Long Army Tours
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/newsArticle.asp?id=1115

Citizens' Initiative Omega
http://www.grn.es/electropolucio/00omega.htm
http://robingood.typepad.com/commagents_blog/2003/07/i_am_very_honou.html#more
http://teleline.terra.es/personal/kirke1/pagact.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EMR-EMF/

If you want our (normally daily) Newsletter in German, sometimes partially in English, please go to
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