Cell phones may harm memory, pregnancy, brain cells?

Steady exposure to the electromagnetic radiation given off by cellphones during use may disrupt fetal development, disturb memory and weaken the barrier that protects the brain from environmental toxins, says a welter of new research being presented this week in Istanbul, Turkey.

In one of the studies reviewed in Istanbul, mice exposed to two hours per day of radio frequency emissions from a transmitting cellphone were less able to to learn and rerun mazes, suggesting that cellphone radiation might impair spatial memory -- the kind of recall that helps us navigate from place to place. A second study found that the barrier between bloodstream and brain that protects the latter from most toxins became more permeable when male rats (although not females) were exposed to 20 minutes of radio frequency radiation such as that emitted by cellphones.

A third study found that exposing pregnant and non-pregnant rabbits to six minutes a day of electromagnetic radiation led to the release of "secondary messengers, such as free radicals," which in turn destroyed DNA and fat molecules.

One of the recent Canadian studies found there to be a complex set of interactions between male hormones and the electromagnetic waves transmitted by cell phones. The research team discovered that men who reported cell phone use had higher levels of circulating testosterone but they also had lower levels of luteinizing hormone (L.H.), which is an important reproductive hormone that is secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain.