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# Cell Phone radiation can induce DNA strand breaks
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/cell_phone_radiation_dna_strand_breaks/
- Published: 2015-11-20T14:53:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:25:12.000Z
- Description: A 2005 study exposed human fibroblasts and rodent granulosa cells to the radiofrequency fields used by mobile phones and found detectable DNA single- and double-strand breaks after 16 hours or more, with intermittent exposure producing a stronger effect than continuous exposure.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Environment, Health News, #vivvo-import

Friday Nov, 20, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study released in 2005 suggests radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) used in cell phones or mobile phones can induce DNA single- and double-strand breaks, which can be lethal to a cell, according to a report published on nature.com. [http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage /repairing-double-strand-dna-breaks-14432332](http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/repairing-double-strand-dna-breaks-14432332?ref=foodconsumer.org)

DNA double strand breaks can be repaired. But no repair is 100% perfect and some repairing mechanisms such as microhomology-mediated end joining can introduce mutations, which are considered the cause for all sorts of cancer. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ DNA\_repair#Single-strand\_damage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA%5Frepair?ref=foodconsumer.org#Single-strand%5Fdamage)

For the study, human diploid fibroblasts and rodent granulosa cells were exposed to RF-EMF intermittently and continuously and DNA strand breaks were measured to see how the cell phone radiation may affect the DNA strands. 

The study found exposure to the radiation 16 hours or longer led to detectable DNA strand breakage in both type of cells. And the intermittent exposure induced a stronger effect that the continuous exposure.

The study concluded "the induced DNA damage cannot be based on thermal effects." Some organizations claimed that the cell phone radiation renders a thermal effect, meaning that the radiation does not cause mutation.

The frequency used for the study was 1800 MHz and the specific absorption rates (SAR) was 1.2 or 2 W/kg. (This is the range of SAR commonly seen in most smart phones).

This is not the only study that suggests that exposure to cell phone radiation can cause DNA damage. [http://journals.plos.org/plosone/ article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0006446](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0006446&ref=foodconsumer.org)

In fact, studies found not only that cell phone radiation can cause damage to DNA, but also that taking certain antioxidants may help reduce the damage to the DNA. [/cell\_phones\_testes\_0817121013/](https://www.foodconsumer.org/cell%5Fphones%5Ftestes%5F0817121013/) (David Liu)

Reference

Elisabeth Diema, Claudia Schwarza, Franz Adlkoferb, Oswald Jahna, Hugo Rüdigera, Non-thermal DNA breakage by mobile-phone radiation (1800 MHz) in human fibroblasts and in transformed GFSH-R17 rat granulosa cells in vitro, Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, Volume 583, Issue 2, 6 June, 2005, Pages 178–183