radiation

Cell phones and health? A debate worth having

If you cover the wireless industry, you're never far from the ongoing debate over whether cell phones are harmful. And the debate usually goes something like this: the scientific community produces a study that explores the issue, and then the wireless industry rushes to interpret that study to its advantage.

Such was the case with a report published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that in healthy volunteer participants, cell phone exposure was associated with increased metabolism of glucose in the region of the brain closest to the … Read more

Cell phone use excites brain, but is that harmful?

A new study has found that prolonged use of a cell phone increases brain activity but failed to determine whether such use can lead to health problems.

The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, recruited 47 people in good health to document the effects of cell phone use on the brain. Conducted in 2009 by researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, the study was created to see whether the electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones affect the brain's glucose metabolism, considered a marker for brain activity.

Cell phones were placed next … Read more

Meta cell phone analysis: Text more, talk less

The "do cell phones cause cancer?" debate rages on, and it will likely continue until truly long-term use can be measured. In the meantime, researchers who published a meta analysis on the risks of cell phone radiation suggest texting over talking.

Their paper, based on an analysis of pooled data from various studies with long-term follow-up and published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, suggests that there is a correlation between hours of cell phone use over time (as well as level of power from the device, years since first use, and age when wireless use began) … Read more

Top 5 smartphones that won't kill you (as quickly?)

Nobody seems to know if cell phone radiation is harmless or setting up the biggest public health crisis in history. Until that little question is answered, here are five great smartphones that heat your flesh less.

If you want to look up the SAR number of any phone, CNET has that list.

Friday Poll: Anxious about cell phone radiation?

This week, CNET updated its running list of the 20 cell phones with the highest specific absorption rate (SAR) levels. Debate over phone radiation danger has been going on for years, but it may be on more people's minds with all the talk about potential hazards of TSA body scanners.

The fact is that cell phones do emit radiation; it's part of how they work. We're not saying cell phones are dangerous, and we're not saying they're not. We're just stating the facts as we've measured them. To be fair, we also recently … Read more

TSA-blocking briefs keep your privates private

I just had a harrowing incident on a flight from New Orleans to Seattle. Due to a small electrical fire, my plane had to be diverted to Memphis; it then took another day and a half to get home.

But what got me more than the thought that my flight could crash was that in Memphis I had to deal with the indignity of going through one of the controversial new backscatter body-scanning machines. A person I didn't know got paid to scrutinize my scrotum. Lucky lady.

But I didn't like it. I felt like I was being virtually strip searched. That's why I'm in favor of these new briefs designed by engineer Jeff Buske. They're regular boxer briefs, with the exception of a fig leaf-shaped radiation blocker located right over your junk. TSA agents looking at your scan will see a shape of a leaf instead of your private parts. Smart, but we're still waiting to learn whether the TSA will let these underpants fly. … Read more

Radiation-shielding garb now includes Belly Band

A few months after launching its RadiaShield maternity clothing line online and in San Francisco, Belly Armor is expanding its line to include the Belly Band, to be worn over or under outfits during pregnancy.

The band, which comes in four colors and one size, is available through the company Web site for $59. The Singapore- and New York-based company describes the latest addition to its product line as follows:

Protect your baby from everyday radiation during your pregnancy, while complementing any outfit. A maternity essential, the flattering Belly Band feels like second skin. Go about your day freely and stylishly with the peace of mind of RadiaShield protection. Wear under or over clothes throughout your pregnancy, with larger side fully covering your belly.

According to the company, RadiaShield fabric is machine washable, soft to the touch, and lighter than the cotton found in most T-shirts. It utilizes an effect known as a Faraday cage, neutralizing incoming radiation in a way similar to a grounding wire neutralizing an electric current.… Read more

Wi-Fi is killing trees, study finds

Enjoying reading the latest technology news and reviews here on Crave? Hope you're pleased with yourself, because you may be killing a tree. Researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands have discovered the sad news that Wi-Fi makes trees sick.

The tree-loving folks of Dutch city Alphen aan den Rijn commissioned the study, whose results have not yet been published, after finding abnormalities on trees that couldn't be explained by known viral or bacterial infections.

Over the last five years, the study found that all deciduous trees in the Western world are affected by radiation from mobile-phone networks … Read more

FCC changes phone radiation guidance

The Federal Communications Commission has removed guidance from its Web site that advised consumers shopping for a cell phone to consider the amount of radiation a handset emits. The revisions, which first appeared last week, were not formally announced nor do they appear to be the result of an official change in policy.

On its revised consumer fact sheet the agency says that considering a handset's specific absorption rate (SAR)--which denotes the amount of radio frequency energy (RF) a phone emits--may be misleading because, among other things, the actual SAR for a phone will vary depending on the … Read more