Isn't it just hard to imagine what the world would be like now without the use of cellphones. Nowadays people in society can't function throughout their day without it. But with great science comes great speculation. Many have heard the famous myth that cellphones can cause numerous types of different cancers. However there are some who believe there are more illness to be had if people continue to use cellphones.
An article I found online (natural news) had a biased point of view on the stance and rather than backing with scientific research, the article was backed by more assumptions and myths. According to the article from natural news children are much more susceptible to brain tumors than that of adults, in fact it vastly suggests to keep cell phone use for children and pregnant women to "an absolute minimum".
On the contrary, with a little bit of research from credible sites such as (cancer.gov) I learned that because there isn't any epidemiological evidence of a causal connection, and because physics tells us that it is virtually impossible for cell phones to cause cancer.
Sources:
1. http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-03-08-cellphone-radiation-is-warping-the-brains-of-children-adults.html
2. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet
Images:
http://www.healtheelife.com/?p=1363
Posted by: Givenchy Humes (B)
I like the research you did to back up the fact that the news article you found was indeed fake. Clearly the research done did not give enough evidence to suggest that cell phones causes brain cancer. However, maybe in the news article they may have concluded their results from a biased or small group of people which skewed their results. Since there's two contradictory articles I think it's hard for anyone else to see which is true and which is fake news.
ReplyDeletePosted by Ana Carolina Nepomuceno
I found it surprising that the fake site and article actually looked credible. I think those in our class would have caught as I did the fake references the author had. A misinformed individual would most likely bypass that fact. However I'm fortunate that I came across a credible debunk article and changed my bias towards cell phones. It's cool too that the credible source includes stats that put to rest the myth. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteReply by: Givenchy Humes
The article was backed up by assumptions and myth as opposed to actual scientific facts so that's already one big red flag! There's no factual data..so I think that concludes the source is not credible enough. I liked the last paragraph, that was interesting to know! It's short and informative. I've definitely heard of these myths before in my life when I was younger but never looked it up, so some part of me was always like "oh my gosh, is it true?"
ReplyDeletePosted by Natalie Nou
Similar claims are made about the safety as microwaves as well. A lot of people worry about the effects of microwaves on pregnant women and children but, like a cell phone, the waves are not strong enough to break the molecular bonds inside cells either. Like Natalie, I have also heard these myths before but as I've taken more science classes I have learned to question and try to decipher which ones are true and which ones are completely made up.
ReplyDeletePosted by Jordan Milone (3)
I like the research done here. I remember when everyone started freaking out about the dangers of cell phones and specifically how the radiation can cause cancer. I'm glad to have read this article because I don't think I would have ever known the actual factual information otherwise. The most convincing piece of evidence you have presented here is the fact that radiation is 480 times stronger. It really makes you think about how irrelevant cell phone usage is to causing cancer.
ReplyDeletePosted by Anna Potorski
I know I'm glad I came across this article as well! I'm relived actually to know that it has such little electromagnetically with comparison to that of x-rays. And we know how dangerous that is to our health. Whats so surprising though was the fake site looked semi "professional" which could fool a misinformed individual.
DeleteReplied by Givenchy Humes
I too have always heard the claims that cell phones were very dangerous. To this day I would think that this myth may even be widely accepted as fact. It is interesting to see the scientific data that shows that cell phones are not as dangerous as people think in terms of cancer. Walking and texting on your cell phone, still not a great idea especially when crossing a road.
ReplyDeletePosted by Leah DeLorenzo
I'm surprised they [the author; presumably Jill Stein or David "Avocado" Wolfe] didn't reference those videos of people popping popcorn kernels with cell phones in order to back up their point: "If these phones can pop a popcorn kernel, just imagine what they could do to your brain!". If you're going to spout absolute garbage, at least have fun with it.
ReplyDeletePosted by Owen Mulledy (C)
This is something that you hear from science articles or the news throughout. Although, there have been implications that x-rays and other harmful UV rays can potentially cause cancer, the general public are now so susceptible to anything they read online about potential cancer hazards. For instance, the cell phone idea causing cancer sounds appropriate in context with other news articles that are trending in the science world. However, you did a very good job in dissecting the article to prove that this may not be the case and gave supporting evidence.
ReplyDeletePosted by Andrew Do (Group A)
I really appreciate the fact that you backed this false study up with research that you did on your own. This has been something that I have told myself before (that cell phones cause cancer) just because I had heard it so many times before. It's nice to know that this isn't true and that it is scientifically impossibly for this to occur. Thanks for the information, and great blog!
ReplyDeletePosted by Nicolas Baltayan (Group A)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete