For 30 years now, the dispute has been around over unhealthy effects of mobile phones, and in particular, whether they cause brain tumors or not. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published a new report on health effects of mobile phones. The results appeared rather dubious. On the one hand, the researchers did not find the direct link between mobile phone and brain tumors. On the other hand, the WOT came under attack for inadequate research methodology and the fact that it was funded by mobile phone manufacturers.
The ten year long study involved 13,000 people from different countries. The report showed there was no overall link between mobile phone use and brain cancer. However, if used heavily (more than 30 minutes a day), they increased the risk of two types of tumors, glioma and meningioma. Data collection method, however, was criticized by science community. The poll’s participants were asked to remember how they used their mobile phones for several years. Unlike direct observation over phone users, this method entails higher level of errors. Moreover, definitions of a “heavy user” and “non-heavy user” changed drastically over the research period. Ten years ago, heavy user was referred to a person who used a mobile phone for half an hour a week. The fact that mobile phone manufacturers funded the research also made many critics suspicious about the conclusions. So the question remained open, and a new study was launched in the UK this month. The study will reportedly involve about 250,000 of people.
Source of the image: photl.com.
