BT 3G Mobile Phones

I’m Carolyn Presutti with the VOA Special English Health Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish

How important is your mobile phone, better known to Americans as a cellphone? Many people say they use the device all the time. So far, no studies have proven beyond question that the radio signals from cellphones cause brain cancer or other health problems. But a new study by government scientists in the United States has some people wondering what to think. The scientists found that holding a cellphone to your ear for at least fifty minutes increases brain cell activity. Even the scientists themselves are not sure about the meaning of their findings.Dr. Nora Volkow led the study. She heads the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Volkow says she would not be concerned that fifty minutes of cellphone exposure would harm anyone. But she says the research does show the need to study whether there are long-lasting effects of repeated exposure over several years.Her team studied forty-seven healthy volunteers in two thousand nine. The volunteers had cellphones placed against both ears while the scientists made images of their brain activity. As part of the test, one phone was activated but muted for fifty minutes. The other phone was off. After that, the people were tested with both phones turned off. Dr. Volkow says the brain scans showed increased activity in brain cells closest to the activated phone.She said the right area of the brain that was very close to the antenna showed the largest increase in metabolism compared to when the telephones were off. Even though the radio frequencies emitted from current cellphones are very weak, they are able to activate the human brain.The scans showed how the brain cells used sugar to produce energy, a normal activity. The activity was seven percent higher in areas of the brain closest to the cellphone antenna. Experts say people who are concerned about mobile phones can take steps like using a wired headset.Dr. Giuseppe Esposito is a nuclear medicine expert at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington. He says after many years of studies, better kinds of research are still needed to settle questions about cellphone safety. These studies would take years. He said there should be epidemiological studies of a population of high users or light users of cellphones and then see what happens over the years.For VOA Special English, I’m Carolyn Presutti.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 02Mar2011)

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This is the VOA Special English Technology Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish

The World Health Organization has added to the debate over the risk of brain cancer from mobile phone use. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer recently listed the signals from wireless devices as “possibly carcinogenic.” This finding puts cell phones in the same risk group as the pesticide DDT — but also in the same group as coffee. A group of thirty-one scientists from fourteen countries made the finding. The announcement came at the end of a meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Lyon, France. The concern is that extended contact with radiofrequency electromagnetic fields may increase a user’s risk for glioma. Glioma is the most common form of brain cancer.The scientists spent a week examining existing research. Dr. Jonathan Samet from the University of Southern California led the group. He says the finding that there could be some risk means scientists need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer. The statement noted that the number of mobile phone users is large and growing, especially among young adults and children. Mobile phone subscriptions are estimated at five billion worldwide. The scientists called for more research into long-term, heavy use of mobile phones. They also suggested taking measures to reduce exposure to the signals, like hands?free devices or texting.Camilla Rees from an American group called Electromagnetic Health praised the report but says wider research is needed. She says: “We’ve only had this technology around for about fifteen years, and most carcinogens will take … thirty to forty years to develop a cancer.” She says some scientists believe there could be a “tsunami of brain cancer unless we do something to educate people to lower their exposure to this kind of risk.” CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry, dismissed the report. The group pointed out that no new research had been done. And it noted that the cancer research agency has given the same finding to things like coffee and pickled vegetables. For VOA Special English, I’m Alex Villarreal. You can find a link to the statement from the World Health Organization at voaspecialenglish.com. While you’re there, you can also download MP3s of Special English programs.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 06Jun2011)

Duration : 0:3:36

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I’m Alex Villarreal with the VOA Special English Technology Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish

Mobile phone technology is quickly changing the way the world operates. Today, we tell about two new projects involving mobile health, also known as m-health. Doctors and technology experts in London are developing a new way to test for sexual infections. The new device uses mobile phones and computers to help people find out if they have been infected with a sexual disease. People will be able to perform the test in the privacy of their own homes. People place urine or saliva on a small piece of paper. They place the test strip in a small device that contains a computer chip. Then they place the device in their mobile phone or a computer for testing. Within minutes, they receive information telling them if they have a sexual disease. And they receive advice on what to do next. Claudia Estcourt is with Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. She is also part of the research team working on the project. She says: “This isn’t designed to replace traditional clinics. This is really opening testing up to people who might find it embarrassing or difficult to get into their clinic.”Health experts say many young people are too ashamed to visit a clinic to be tested. This increases the risk of them passing on sexual diseases. The researchers hope the tests will help persuade people to be tested and reduce the number of sexually transmitted infections. Dr. Estcourt says the project is still seven to ten years away from completion. But she says it holds great promise for the future, especially in developing countries. In other news, researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada are studying a mobile phone system that may help people with diabetes control their blood pressure. The system collects blood pressure readings from home testing devices that have wireless technology. The readings are then sent to a health-care monitoring system. Patients receive a mobile phone message telling them how they are doing. If their blood pressure is too high, they are advised to make an appointment with their doctor. Several high readings will cause the system to automatically contact the doctor. Patients in the study used the mobile phone system for one year. The researchers found that thirty-seven percent of the patients were able to get their blood pressure under control. This compares with about fourteen percent of patients using common equipment. For VOA Special English, I’m Alex Villarreal.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 06Dec2010)

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