Cell Phone Use May Fight Alzheimer's, Mouse Study Says

After years of speculation that cell phones may harm your brain, new research suggests they may actually fight Alzheimer's disease.

Yes, you heard right.

Microwave radiation from cell phones may protect against and even reverse Alzheimer's-like symptoms, according to a new study involving genetically tweaked mice.

The results were so surprising that study co-author Juan Sanchez-Ramos didn't believe them at first.

"It's such a dramatic and counterintuitive effect," said Sanchez-Ramos, a University of South Florida neuroscientist.

"I joked that the animals must have been mislabeled or that the power wasn't switched on."

Cell Phones Provide Protective Radiation?

The primary culprits in Alzheimer's disease—which is marked by dementia and cognitive decline—appear to be sticky brain deposits known as beta amyloid plaques, which can build up between nerve cells.

In the experiment, scientists examined the effects of cell phone radiation on 96 mice that were genetically engineered to develop beta amyloid plaques and thus Alzheimer's-like symptoms. The mice normally developed the first signs of the disease around 6 months. By 8 months they were already experiencing cognitive declines.

Both the Alzheimer's-prone mice and normal mice were then exposed to cell phone-level microwave radiation for two one-hour periods daily for seven to nine months.

The study found that if cell phone exposure began before the genetically engineered mice started showing signs of Alzheimer's, they were less likely to develop symptoms later on in life.

These mice performed as well on memory and thinking-skills tests as normal mice without Alzheimer's. For instance, the mice were given a cognitive interference task that tested their ability to remember something after an interruption. The team also put the mice through a three-armed Y maze, which measures basic memory function.

via Cell Phone Use May Fight Alzheimer's, Mouse Study Says.

Protective radiation? Yeah, see, if we microwave your head long enough,  the amount of time you spend worrying will be dramatically deceased! Ah, the science an industry with billions of dollars at stake can buy.  The study that showed cell phones burn holes in the brains of rats was not "speculation".

On the other hand, if there are billions at stake, and the danger was real, it seems some lawyer somewhere would have tried to cash in... Wait, doesn't this sound like exactly what happened with the big tobacco?

... there's this incredibly popular product that has widespread consumer use and a massive marketing presence. Nearly everyone uses it, and it has very high social acceptance, even though some people find it annoying when it's used in public. It's highly habit-forming; people who use the product on a regular basis find it almost impossible to live without.

Unfortunately, studies start to appear showing that the product might be harmful to its users--even cancer-causing. The product's manufacturers deny the presence of any danger and even spend millions of dollars trying to discredit the research that points to problems. Then, an insider emerges, seemingly with proof that the product could be dangerous.

The industry agrees to publish warning data about the product, but continues to maintain that the product itself is safe for use. Lawsuits against the product's manufacturers are filed, but all are dismissed. Industry analysts know that any case that does succeed could start a domino effect of future lawsuits, which keeps the industry determined to maintain that the product is harmless, despite increasing evidence to the contrary.