To study the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic irradiation at 900 MHz, emitted by GSM mobile phones on reproductive capacity of the insect Drosophila melanogaster.
In the first experiment (A) the insects were exposed to the mobile phone's GSM field while the mobile phone was operating in "non-speaking mode" ("non-modulated emission"; situation when the user listens through the mobile phone during connection). In the second set of experiments (B) the mobile phone was operating in "speaking mode" ("modulated emission"; the experimenter was speaking close to the mobile phone' microphone during exposure) during exposures and the third set of experiments (C) was designed to record the effect of the field on the reproductive capacity of each sex separately.
| Exposure | Parameters |
|---|---|
|
Exposure 1:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
repeated daily exposure, 6 min/day for 5 days
|
|
|
Exposure 2:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
repeated daily exposure, 6 min/day for 5 days
|
|
|
Exposure 3:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
repeated daily exposure, 6 min/day for 2 days
testing the effect on each sex separately
|
|
| Frequency | 900 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Charakteristic | |
| Exposure duration | repeated daily exposure, 6 min/day for 5 days |
| Additional info | GSM basic modulation |
| Exposure source | |
|---|---|
| Chamber | The exposures and the field measurements took place in a quiet but not sound-isolated room. Flies were put in groups of 10 in standard laboratory 50-ml cylindrical glass vials (tubes), with 2.5-cm diameter and 10-cm height, with standard food, which formed a smooth plane surface, 1-cm thick at the bottom of the vials. The glass vials were closed with cotton plugs that were pushed down each time before exposure to confine the flies to a small area of 1-cm height between the cotton and the food to provide roughly even exposure to all flies. After the exposure, the cotton plugs were pulled back to the top of the vials, and the vials were put back in the culture room. |
| Setup | The mobile phone was held close to the experimenter's head with its antenna facing downward, being at the same time parallel to and in contact with the glass vials. The experimenter could speak on the mobile phone during connection ("modulated emission") or could just make no sound ("non-modulated emission"). In both cases, the experimenter's position in relation to the mobile phone and the glass vials was the same. |
| Additional info | In the first two sets of experiments, the insects were separated into two groups (each one consisting of 10 female and 10 male, newly emerged flies): exposed group and sham exposed (control) group. The sham exposed groups had identical treatment, except that the mobile phone was turned off. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electric field strength | 16.68 V/m | mean | measured | - | ± 3.68 V/m |
| power density | 0.041 mW/cm² | mean | measured | - | ± 0.006 mW/cm² |
| electric field strength | 3.18 V/m | mean | measured | - | ± 1.10 V/m ELF |
| magnetic flux density | 3 nT | mean | measured | - | ± 0.3 nT ELF |
| Frequency | 900 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Charakteristic | |
| Exposure duration | repeated daily exposure, 6 min/day for 5 days |
| Additional info | GSM talk modulation |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electric field strength | 37.21 V/m | mean | measured | - | ± 7.10 V/m |
| power density | 0.436 mW/cm² | mean | measured | - | ± 0.060 mW/cm² |
| electric field strength | 6.05 V/m | mean | measured | - | ± 1.62 V/m ELF |
| magnetic flux density | 10 nT | mean | measured | - | ± 6 nT ELF |
| Frequency | 900 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Charakteristic | |
| Exposure duration | repeated daily exposure, 6 min/day for 2 days |
| Additional info | testing the effect on each sex separately |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Additional info | In this third set of experiments, the insects were separated into four groups (each one consisting again of 10 female and 10 male insects). In the first group, both male and female insects were exposed. In the second group, only the females, and in the third group, only the males were exposed. The fourth group was sham exposed (control). |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electric field strength | 37.21 V/m | mean | measured | - | ± 7.10 V/m |
| power density | 0.436 mW/cm² | mean | measured | - | ± 0.060 mW/cm² |
| electric field strength | 6.05 V/m | mean | measured | - | ± 1.62 V/m ELF |
| magnetic flux density | 10 nT | mean | measured | - | ± 6 nT ELF |
Pulsed radiofrequency electromagnetic irradiation from common GSM mobile phones with a carrier frequency at 900 MHz, "modulated" by human voice (speaking emission) decreased the reproductive capacity of Drosophila melanogaster by 50 % - 60 %, whereas the corresponding "non-modulated"- field (non-speaking emission) decreased the reproductive capacity by 15 % - 20 %. The field is found to affect both females and males.
The data suggest that this field-irradiation decreases the rate of cellular processes during gonad development in insects.
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