Now this is going to be a long post. Sorry! But I have do much information to share-yeah! I decided to take another route to finding out more information on cell phones and the bluetooth. I popped into the campus library to get some help in finding some of the studies that have been done. That way I can see how old they are, who funded the research, how the study was conducted, and what the outcomes and recommendations are. Geez, that is so much. Isn’t there just one place on the web I can go to that will tell me all of this?
So in the library I talked with a Librarian who had me look through a reference book on technology to gather some key words to use when searching the databases. We came up with mobile phone, cell phone, bluetooth, wireless device, health concern(s), and benefit(s). The Librarian also recommended that I limit my searching to the past couple of years at first. That way I’ll see the most recent research. If that doesn’t produce enough then I can expand that date limitation.
So I searched in Academic Search Premier (what does that mean anyway?) using these search terms: cell phone, health concern, limited to Jan, 2007 – October 2008. I got 15 hits. That seemed pretty good to me. There were a few that seemed off the mark, but most of the titles seemed right. Some of these articles were online and easy to find, but others I needed help finding at first. I went back to the Librarian who showed me how to go out, find the actual journal, and search for the article there to read the full version of it.
I found an article that called for more research. It was about a hearing before legislators with Dr. Herberman (remember him from a previous post?) and his concerns, especially when it came to kids and cell phones. Here’s the information for that article:
Author: Olga Kharif
Title: Cell phones and cancer: more research needed
Date: September 29, 2008
Journal: Business week online
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2008/tc20080925_833994.htm
This next article talks about some history of the research and why so much of it is inconclusive. Mostly due to research labs being shut down and the need to do the studies over long periods of time, which hasn’t happened. It does recommend that people be cautious, know there can be risks, and to use wireless ear devices.
Author: Jay Yarrow
Title: Why cell-phone health concerns persist
Date: August 6, 2008
Journal: Business week online
Link: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2008/tc2008085_412407.htm
Here’s an article that claims people have had exposure to radio frequency waves for a long time and there is no scientific data showing that exposure has had bad health effects on human health. It also claims that the studies that have been conducted do not show any adverse affects either.
Author: Peter A. Valberg, T. Emilie Van Deventer, and Michael H. Repacholi
Title: Workgroup Report: Base Stations and Wireless Networks--Radiofrequency (RF) Exposures and Health Consequences
Date: March 2007
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume: 115
Issue: 3
Pages: 416-424
Link: http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/9633/9633.html
Here is an article that claims the use of cell phones can cause damage to cells. It was quite technical.
Author: Tian-Yong Zhao, Shi-Ping Zou, and Pamela E. Knapp
Title: Exposure to cell phone radiation up-regulates apoptosis genes in primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes
Journal: Neuroscience Letters
Date: January 2007
Volume: 412
Issue: 1
Pages: 34-38
Article: http://www.drwdowin.com/Downloadable%20Files/CellPhonesUpRegulateApoptosisInNeurons.pdf
Not feeling that I found enough on bluetooths, I searched the same database (Academic Search Premier) for wireless device and health concerns. I came up with 7 hits. I didn’t find anything that was specific to just Bluetooth devices, but more overall ideas on wireless devices like cell phones. Below are more articles I found, but I think I’m ready to sift through it all and make my decision..
Author: Stephen J. Genuis
Title: Fielding a current idea: exploring the public health impact of electromagnetic radiation
Journal: Public Health
Date: February 2008
Volume: 122
Issue: 2
Pages: 113-124
Article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B73H6-4P0N25Y-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=0bb8485508ae62adf1ab32388649a80c
Note: You might need to purchase this article if you are not affiliated with a university that subscribes to this journal
Author: Daniel Krewski, Barry W. Glickman, Riadh Habash, Brian Habbick, and a few more
Title: Recent Advances in Research on Radiofrequency Fields and Health: 2001-2003
Journal: Journal of Toxicology & Environmental Health: Part B
Date: June 2007
Volume: 10
Issue: 4
Pages: 287-318
Article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B73H6-4P0N25Y-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=0bb8485508ae62adf1ab32388649a80c
Note: You might need to purchase this article if you are not affiliated with a university that subscribes to this journal
To end this post, I want you to know that some articles are found online and electronic while others are still only printed. I didn’t run into any that were print only, but if I did I’d have to find that journal in the Library to read the entire article. Sounds like just another small step to getting what I need. Also, I noticed that in several of these articles that there were references to other research articles that I could track down and read. That is fascinating to me to find that I can actually network articles together through their references. Anyway, I didn’t look for them, but probably would if I were writing a paper for a class or something.
2 comments:
Oh, this is just what I needed. These studies have helped me think more about my cell phone, using it, carrying it in my pocket, and what options I have. I am interested to see what you think.
The library databases can provide additional information about the topic of who funds research and whether funding sources may try to bias research outcomes or to suppress publication of results that may be unfavorable to profits (you mentioned this in an earlier post).
One example is tobacco companies funding research, which can raise ethical questions about whether they wish to influence the research outcomes. Of course, researchers manage their own behavior and nearly always are desperate for money to run their operations. Fortunately, much scientific research is funded by large organizations like the National Science Foundation,the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, which have strict peer-review policies to assess quality of both grant proposals and published outcomes. Of course, peer review of research journals is also supposed to help guarantee quality and identify any suspicious or questionable findings.
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