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Electromagnetic fields (EMFs),
such as those found in overhead power lines or emanating from any electrical
device or wiring, can have a biological effect on human cells.
This effect may contribute to the
complex cellular process that leads to cancer, researchers from Michigan
State University say.
James E. Trosko, a professor of
pediatrics and human development states that " ... there
is a biological effect of the energy imparted by extremely low frequency
EMF (ELF-EMF) on living systems."
"Until now, the weight of
the theoretical and experimental evidence has suggested that ELF-EMF did
not have the ability to interact with genetic material to damage it, thereby
causing mutations, which we know can lead to cancer," Trosko said.
In experiments on mice, researchers
found that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of 60 hertz and of strengths
ranging from .05 to 10 gauss interfered with a chemically induced maturation
process in mouse leukemia cells and allowed the cells to continue to proliferate.
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After four days of exposure,
about 35 percent of the chemically treated cells that were exposed
to ELF-EMF showed these effects.
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Researchers
feel that ELF/EMF is not a tumor "initiator", but rather
a potential tumor "promoter".
- According to Trosko, ELF-EMF
"can turn them (genes) on and off at inappropriate times, causing
these initiated cells to proliferate when normally they would just sit
there quietly doing nothing."
"The bottom line is we showed
there is a biological effect of EMF as measured by altering the expression
of the hemoglobin-producing gene," he said.
The research was funded by a grant from the
Electrical Power Research Institute.
Environmental Health
Perspectives October, 2000 (Journal of the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences).
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