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INTRODUCTION:
When any of us asks whether using a cell phone might cause cancer—or any other serious health problem—we betray an assumption that such scientific research is being done. Or, that the most obvious questions have been rigorously addressed and a 'comfort zone' of scientific consensus obtained. Neither assumption holds true.
Unbeknownst to most Americans, not a single U.S. research lab is currently funded to look for a relationship between cell phone use and physical, biological harm in humans or living ecologies—and such has been the case for years.
The reasons for such a troubling state of affairs are systemic, including outright conflicts of interest and the inadequacy of current theoretical models to address or explain real world concerns.
Andrew Marino names three disorders within EMF science: (1) data that is fabricated to serve its funders' interests; (2) data that is rejected because it doesn't fit within prevailing theory; and, (3) data that is kept from the public realm for nonscientific reasons, such as national security.
According to Marino, regardless of whether we are speaking of cell phones, military radar, broadcasting towers, video monitors, or satellite uplinks, it is always the case that (1) EMF exposure is associated with some risk; (2) the makers of EMF-producing hardware are interested in science that exonerates them from any liability; and, (3) the public exposed to EMFs is either unaware of its exposure, only barely aware of it, or falsely confident in its safety because of misleading representations.
In particular, Marino points out that cancer research is almost exclusively interested in finding mechanisms to stop uncontrolled cell growth. Contrary to public assumption, the intent is not to inform the public on what causes cancer and how to avoid or prevent it, but how cancer can be treated through pharmaceuticals and procedures.
Perhaps most provocatively, however, Marino discusses theoretical and methodological problems within EMF science. Dominated by physics and engineering
—using linear, deterministic models—EMF science remains incommensurable with complex, nonlinear biological or ecological systems. Scientific research into EMFs and human electrophysiology is, quite literally, in its infancy. IFI invites rigorous, ongoing discussion on this topic.
Read: An Interview with Andrew Marino.
Related: EMF Research and Politics.
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"An Interview
With Andrew Marino"
Interview: HTML/ PDF
Listen: Talk pdf
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ANDREW MARINO, Ph.D., J.D. is a professor and research biophysicist in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Louisiana State University, Shreveport. He received a Ph.D. in biophysics, and a J.D. in law from Syracuse University, New York; and is a current member of the bar in New York and Louisiana. He has figured prominently in the International Society for Bioelectricity, serving as editor of its Journal from 1980�1991. And currently serves as an associate editor of Electromagnetic Medicine and Biology. His books include Electromagnetism and Life, with R.O. Becker; The Electric Wilderness, with Joel Ray; and Foundations of Modern Bioelectricity, ed. Marcel Dekker. The Electric Wilderness chronicles the highly controversial New York public health hearings on the health risks of high voltage powerlines. Marino and Becker testified in a protracted show-down with the electric power industry, and, for the first time, high voltage lines were found to be a potential health hazard.www.ortho.lsuhsc.edu
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