Electromagnetic Radiation: Does it Have a Significant Effect on Your Body?

Via ElectroSchematics: http://www.electroschematics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/thermal-effect.png

The debate over electromagnetic radiation is a heated one. Many people claim that exposure to electromagnetic radiation is extremely detrimental to your health, even going so far as to say that it is carcinogenic which would mean that it plays a direct role in causing some cancers. The focal point of this debate lies in airport security scanners as well as in cellphones.  Despite general uneasiness over the use of electromagnetic radiation in these devices, scientific evidence has frequently proven that the electromagnetic radiation does not in fact have a significant effect on human health when the body is only briefly exposed to EM radiation. In a study conducted by a team of researchers at the Radiation Research Society, field mice were administered controlled amounts of millimeter-wave EM radiation. After the experiment concluded, the control mice were compared to the mice exposed to the millimeter-wave EM radiation, and there was almost no greater genotoxicity present in the manipulated mice as opposed to the control mice. In essence, genotoxicity is the term used to describe agents that have the capabilities to irreparably damage genetic information within a cell, which can lead to cancer. This breakthrough is especially relevant to our lives because millimeter-wave EM radiation is the type of electromagnetic radiation utilized in airport scanners. This study confirms that the amount of radiation emitted by airport scanners really is nothing to worry about. In fact, certain rocks naturally emit more electromagnetic radiation than these scanners do. On the other hand, there has been evidence that would suggest that EM radiation can help to treat cancer. At certain frequencies, EM radiation has the potential to disrupt the mitotic spindle of cancerous cells, and help to stop the spread of tumors. It is not to say that EM radiation can't be harmful. The higher the wavelength of the EM radiation, the more harmful the radiation is. In addition, prolonged exposure can be harmful, hence why cellphones are more dangerous than security scanners.