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The Checkup: More questions about cell phone safety

Are cell phones safe? That question has gotten a lot of attention, but so far, as my colleague pointed out on Monday, there has been no convincing evidence that those ubiquitous devices actually cause health problems. However, a new federal study may stir things up further, even though the bottom line again is that it raises more questions than it answers.

For the study, Nora Volkow of the National Institutes of Health and colleagues conducted PET scans on the brains of 47 subjects throughout 2009, as they randomly held phones up to their left or right ears for 50 minutes at a time, sometimes on but muted and other times off.

The researchers found that the activity of the entire brain did not differ between when the phone was on or off. But activity in the brain region closest to the antenna, known as the orbitofrontal cortex and temporal pole, was significantly higher -- about 7 percent more active -- when the phone was on, compared to when it was off.

"The increases were significantly correlated with the estimated electromagnetic field amplitudes, both for absolute metabolism and normalized metabolism," the authors write. "These results provide evidence that the human brain is sensitive to the effects of RF-EMFs from acute cell phone exposures."

They add, however, that "these results provide no information as to their relevance regarding potential carcinogenic effects (or lack of such effects) from chronic cell phone use. Further studies are needed to assess if these effects could have potential long-term harmful consequences."

In an editorial accompanying the study, Henry Lai of the University of Washington and Lennart Hardell of University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden, said the meaning of the findings remains far from clear but "warrant further investigation."

"An important question is whether glucose metabolism in the brain would be chronically increased from regular use of a wireless phone with higher radiofrequency energy than those used in the current study. Potential acute and chronic health effects need to be clarified. Much has to be done to further investigate and understand these effects," they wrote.

The findings may indicate that other changes in brain function occur from exposure to radiofrequency emissions, they said.

"If so, this might have effects on other organs, leading to unwanted physiological responses. Further studies on biomarkers of functional brain changes from exposure to radiofrequency radiation are definitely warranted," they wrote.

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Cell phone camera photographs microscopic cell samples

On April 11th JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) will publish a new video article by Dr. Aydogan Ozcan demonstrating how a cell phone camera can capture images from a fluorescent microscope and flow cytometer, which will make it possible for areas with limited resources to easily run tests such as checking for contaminated water and monitoring HIV positive patients.

In the new video article electrical and bio engineers from the University of California Los Angeles show the construction of the device and how it can be modified to fit any cellphone with a camera. The team expects the device to be helpful to doctors and scientists in countries with limited supplies and in fast-paced clinical environments.

"There is a huge need for these [miniaturized] devices. Resource poor countries demand compact, cost effective and light weight devices to replace bulky equipment common in our labs and hospitals," Dr. Ozcan explains. "These devices bring the diagnostic, testing, and microanalysis capabilities of larger machines to your cellphone."

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The video as it appears in the JoVE article. Credit: jove.com

Flow cytometry is a way to count and characterize cells in a liquid sample, and was first developed by Wallace H. Coulter in 1953. Since then, flow cytometry has become ubiquitous in scientific research, particularly in the fields of molecular biology, pathology, and immunology.

Dr. Ozcan's device brings fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry, two widely used tools in biomedical research, to the common cellphone. The vast network of cellphone subscribers around the world, estimated by the United Nations to top 6 billion subscribers, provides a massive infrastructure to be able to conduct complex biological tests. Dr. Ozcan's device can be constructed for less than $50 plus the cost of the cellphone, while full sized fluorescent flow cytometers can cost more than $150,000 and require expansive lab space to operate.

"A cellphone has almost the computing power of a super computer of the early 1990s, and with over 6 billion cellphone subscribers in the world there is a massive cost reduction to owning a cellphone. That is exactly why I and my colleagues are trying to deploy these micro-devices to cellphones." Dr. Ozcan and his colleagues have filed more than 20 intellectual property licenses as part of Holomic LLC, a startup focused on the development of laboratory equipment for mobile devices.

Dr. Nandita Singh, senior science editor at JoVE, says of Dr. Ozcan's publication "We are very excited to publish this inexpensive cell phone based technology platform that enables the detection of white blood cells to monitor HIV positive patients in geographical regions with limited resources. This technology can also be extended to detect E. Coli contamination in water and milk supplies."

More information: Ozcan et. al.; www.jove.com/video/50451/wide-field-fluorescent-microscopy-fluorescent-imaging-flow-cytometry

Journal reference: Journal of Visualized Experiments

Provided by The Journal of Visualized Experiments

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