Cell Phones: Potential Medical Phenomenon?.
In recent years, the world has been changing more rapidly than ever before. Technology has progressed, allowing for quick, convenient, ways to keep in touch while on the go. First came old fashioned "snail mail", next came the more modern fax machine, and now cellular phones will be in the hands of over 1.3 billion users by the year 2005 (www.sightings.com). It seems that whether we look in the grocery store, at the beach, or at people in cars driving down the highway, cellular phones are everywhere! .
Cellular phones are not only used for placing and receiving calls, but are also equipped with helpful features that can be chosen by the purchaser. Some of these features include: call waiting, caller ID, voice mail, wireless e-mail, and call forwarding (www.bellsouth.com). All of these aspects combined with exceptional convenience make cell phones hot items on the market. However, if these items, necessary in today's hectic world, are such hot items, why are scientists and researchers discouraging their use? .
Though some researchers oppose the use of cell phones by arguing that the radiation they produce can lead to brain tumors and birth defects in children, other researchers are looking into possible medical benefits from cellular phones. Dr. Michael Huncharek, a radiologist involved in wireless telephone research advised, "There really was no association found between cell phone use and the development of primary brain tumors. It is grossly irresponsible to release something like this." (www.stats.org/newsletters/9906/cellphones). Recent studies have also provided shocking new information to document Dr. Huncharek's view. .
The University of Bristol constructed a device that mimicked the microwave emissions (or radiation) released from cellular phones. After testing several volunteers, they concluded that their subjects were just as good at recalling words and pictures as they were before their exposure to the emissions.