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LONDON: The magnetic fields created by mobile phones and power lines are "likely to be safe" to human health, according to research from the University of Manchester, it was reported Wednesday.
Several past studies have suggested that the magnetic fields created by phones, high-voltage power lines and other electrical equipment are harmful for humans. Although some later studies have failed to find such a link, the International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized low frequency magnetic fields as "possibly carcinogenic."
But a mechanism for this association has never been found. The new study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, studied the effects of weak magnetic fields (WMFs) on key human proteins, including those crucial for health.
It found that they have no detectable impact. They looked at how WMFs affected a protein class called flavoproteins, which are key to processing healthy human functions such as the nervous system, DNA repair and the biological clock.
If these proteins are affected, there are serious knock-on effects for human health.
"More work on other possible links will need to be done but this study definitely takes us nearer to the point where we can say that power-lines, mobile phones and other similar devices are likely to be safe for humans," said Prof Nigel Scrutton, co-lead author of the paper.
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