Researchers in five European countries have joined forces to launch a comprehensive study on whether cell phone radiation causes adverse health effects.
The Cohort Study on Mobile Communications (COMOS) will track cell-phone use and health information for 200,000 people over a 20 to 30-year period. The Washington Post reports:
The COSMOS study is recruiting participants aged 18-69 in Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark through mobile carriers. It will use data from volunteers' phone bills and health records as well as questionnaires...
The study will examine all health developments and look for links to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's as well as cancer.
It will also take account of how users carry their phone-for example in a trouser or chest pocket or in a bag-and whether they use hand-free kits.
Although a study published in December found little or no association between long-term cell phone use and brain cancer, the public debate on whether the radio frequencies emitted by cell phones are a health hazard continues.
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography