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Abby's Magazine - Volume 4 Issue 5 | Page 41 If you're a man and you carry your mobile phone in your pants pocket, or a woman who tucks her phone into her bra or bra strap… chances are you aren't aware of the damage this prac ce may be causing. You're not going to hear about it from the cell phone companies who are resis ng moun ng evidence about the dangers of mobile phone radia on. Read on for some of the major areas of health concerns (including cancer!) and what cell phone studies have uncovered thus far… Cell Phones and Infertility/Decreased Sperm Counts Another recent study has demonstrated that cell phones are no friends of testes, the male reproduc ve organs in which sperm is made. It was shown that when cell phones were in talk mode and located in close proximity to the testes, sperm cells were damaged. The study is alarming because of two key problems… First, damaged sperm can lead to birth defects and higher incidences of various disabili es, as is the case in a greater than average number of children of older fathers. Second, the scenario tested in the study is a common one. Males who chat using hands free headsets o en leave their mobile phones res ng in their pockets − in perfect range to cause the testes harm. Ashok Agarwal, who led the study and is the Director of the Center for Reproduc ve Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, states, "We believe that these devices are used because we consider them very safe, but it could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the phones and the exposure that they are causing to the gonads." The study consisted of semen samples taken from 32 men who exhibited similar sperm health. The samples were kept at constant temperature and other similar condi ons, while being split into a control group and a test group. The test group was placed for an hour within 2.5 cm of a cell phone in talk mode, at 850 MHz, which is perhaps the most common frequency. The transmissions led to an apparent increase in oxida ve stress, with free radicals and oxidants being created at a higher then normal rate and an oxidants being broken down. Agarwal says this stress equates to damaged sperm. Other factors which can cause it include environmental pollutants or infec ons in the urinary genital tract, he adds. Mobile Phone Radiation and Cancer Perhaps the greatest area of concern when it comes to cell phone use and health is cancer. Mobile phone radia on has been linked to various forms of cancer. Evidence is moun ng that prolonged exposure to radia on from cell phones carried on the body can lead to breast and other cancers − at earlier ages than ever. The World Health Organiza on has classified mobile phones, and any wireless devices that use microwaves to communicate, as a group 2B risk − which means that they are "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Many believe that the evidence is already strong enough to classify mobile phones as definite cancer causers. They point to the increased incidence of cancer in areas of the body closest to where cell phones are carried and used; for example, tes cular cancer in men occurring more frequently in the testes closest to where cell phones are carried. A pile of research has confirmed that non-ionizing communica ons radia on in the radio-frequency (RF) microwave spectrum has the same effect on human health as ionizing gamma wave radia on from nuclear reac ons. It has been known for about 15 years that microwaves from cell phones and tower transmi ers cause damage in human blood cells which results in nuclei splintering off into micronuclei fragments. An industry study showed that human blood exposure to cell phone radia on had a 300% increase in gene c damage in the form of micronuclei. This suggests a health threat much greater than that of smoking or asbestos exposure. The development of micronuclei is a pre-cancerous condi on that can quickly develop into full-blown cancer. Why You Need to STOP CARRYING Your Mobile Phone IN YOUR POCKET OR BRA By Tony Isaacs