radiation

A cell phone case for reducing cell phone radiation

Outside of the battle between iPhone fans and Android advocates, few debates in the cell phone world are more divisive than that over whether the radio frequency (RF) energy emitted by cell phones is harmful. Though the industry and some members of the scientific community insist that there is no danger, other researchers and a growing number of public officials believe that there is cause for concern. No consensus exists, and as CNET has reported, any agreement or firm evidence may not come for a long time, if it does at all.

In the meantime, some CNET readers will feel more comfortable erring on the side of caution. If you're concerned, you can use a headset, text instead of talk, and limit calls when your carrier signal is low (more RF energy is emitted when a phone is working harder to reach a tower). Yet, since that advice isn't always practical, Pong Research has another solution, with a case that is designed to refocus RF energy, or radiation, away from your head while not reducing signal strength. So in other words, you can use your phone just as you normally would.

If you think that sounds like pseudoscience, I don't blame you. Honestly, I've never taken seriously the cheap radiation "shields" that you can find online. Usually nothing more than tiny stickers, I didn't believe that they did anything, except spread a false peace of mind. Few of the products backed up their claims with solid proof, and, even worse, some can actually interfere with your cell phone's signal. That's why I was pretty skeptical when I first heard of the Pong case. But as it turns out, the company has done its homework. … Read more

Semiconductors could detect nuclear materials

No one wants to stumble upon the radiation warning sign. But its presence at least indicates that hazardous materials have been detected, and that there might be some form of control of those materials.

In high-risk scenarios without up-to-date signage (war zones, abandoned testing sites, and now airport security lines), it could prove quite handy to have a handheld device that can detect hard radiation--including nuclear weapons.

Chemists at Northwestern University report in the journal Advanced Materials that they are one step closer to developing such a device.

"We have designed promising semiconductor materials that, once optimized, could be … Read more

Tiny oxygen generators improve cancer treatments

Radiation therapy requires oxygen to be effective, which makes cancers that tend to be hypoxic (meaning they are deprived of oxygen)--such as pancreatic and cervical cancers--harder to treat. (Tumors can become hypoxic for a few reasons, e.g. they grow so quickly they actually outgrow blood supply, or cells proliferate so many times that the density taxes the available oxygen.)

So researchers at Purdue have been building and testing tiny devices that can be implanted in tumors and then generate oxygen, thereby making the area far more susceptible to radiation and chemotherapy.… Read more

CTIA weighs challenge to revised SF cell phone law

Just when you thought the legal battles between the CTIA and the city of San Francisco were over, it appears that the fight may continue.

In an interview today, a spokesman for the wireless industry's trade group told CNET that the organization is strongly considering challenging a new city law that requires San Francisco retailers to post informational notices that cell phones emit radiofrequency (RF) energy and offer fact sheets to consumers who request them.

John Walls, CTIA's vice president for public affairs, refused to say exactly what legal recourse the group is considering, but that it is … Read more

Skype Wi-Fi launches

Researchers say cell phone radiation may lower sperm count, AT&T cuts its texting plans down to one, and Skype launches an app for iOS that lets world travelers use Wi-Fi hot spots on a per-minute basis.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Cities and states consider cell phone radiation laws

Editors' note: This story was originally published June 2. It has been updated with new information.

Though the science on the possible health effects of cell phone radiation is far from conclusive, several state and local governments are proposing legislation to address public concerns. And though no law has been implemented yet, it's clear the issue isn't going away.

How we got here Maine largely led the way in early 2010 with a bill that would have required warning labels that cell phones may cause brain cancer. That legislation later died in a Maine House of Representatives committee, … Read more

SF tries again with cell phone radiation law

Almost three months after it shelved a controversial cell phone radiation law, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is keeping the issue alive, but adopting a different strategy for doing so.

At its meeting tomorrow, the board will vote on amended legislation that would require retailers in the city to post informational notices on radiofrequency (RF) exposure and offer fact sheets to consumers that request them. Proposed by Supervisor John Avalos, the revamped "Right to Ordinance" won unanimous approval last week from the board's City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee.

An Avalos spokeswoman told CNET that the … Read more

Study: No link between brain tumors, cell phones

A new study out of Denmark suggests that cell phone use may not increase your risk of some types of noncancerous brain tumors.

Reuters reported this week on a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that found people who used a cell phone for 11 to 15 years were no more likely to develop an acoustic neuroma, a noncancerous brain tumor, than people who have been using cell phones for either a shorter period of time or who have never used a cell phone.

Even though acoustic neuroma, or vestibular schwannoma, as it is also known, is noncancerous, … Read more

Researchers cast doubt on cell-phone cancer risk

A new report has punched some holes into arguments that mobile phones may cause cancer.

"Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults," researchers from the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection Standing Committee on Epidemiology concluded in their findings published late last week in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

In the journal, the researchers released findings on brain cancer instances for males and females across different age categories both before and after handsets were released. They found that the … Read more

This Day in Tech: Jobs unveils iCloud, iOS 5, Lion

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Monday, June 6.

Steve Jobs takes stage at WWDC (video) At Apple's WWDC in San Francisco, Steve Jobs opens to a warm reception from attendees. Jobs, who is on medical leave, took the stage to announce new Apple products. More

Apple's iCloud handles music, photos, more CEO Steve Jobs unveils an online storage service designed to make it simple to wirelessly share music, e-mail, photos, calendars, and other data between handheld gadgets and desktop PCs. How Apple's event unfolded (live blog) … Read more