This is a modified post from one I wrote for my Target Cancer Naturally site (I removed the cancer bits) . I describe here a simple tool to assess your state of mind, something I think is useful for anyone, not just people diagnosed with cancer. It also links in with my book, Stages of Suicide-How to Help your Mindwhich I am happy to say is now published in paperback form.
The Wolf with my book
How to Assess Your State of Mind
Introduction
We may be good at assessing ourselves for physical pain and then doing something to relieve that pain. We are not however, always as good at assessing how stressed we are and then doing something to relieve that pressure. There are extensive benefits for people to become good at identifying what specific psychological stressors they may be experiencing and then advocating for themselves to reduce stress and pressure relating to these. These stressors may be financial, physical, emotional, social, practical or spiritual or religious. Monitoring the mind and being proactive in ways to prevent mental deterioration are important components in dealing with life in general. Feeling good mentally helps the immune system tackle illnesses and life’s setbacks.
Here, I describe one of two tools to assess and help the mind. The second tool relates to the contents of a book I recently published in paperback form with a detailed mind monitoring Tool.
Tool 1 – Assess your mind with the Distress Thermometer.
Tool 2 – Prepare for and assist your mind in the event it becomes irrational and unsafe using techniques in the book Stages of Suicide-How to Help Your Mind.
Tool 1- The Thermometer
This gauge was designed for cancer patients and is also an easy and useful tool for anyone regardless of physical health.
Circle the number (0-10) that best describes how much distress you’ve had during the past week, including the present day.
Choose a number from 0 to 10 that reflects how much distress you feel today and how much you felt over the past week. Ten is the highest level of distress you can imagine, and 0 is no distress. Most people can use this scale to rate their distress in a way that helps the cancer care team. If your response is 4 or above, you likely have a moderate-to-high degree of distress. Your doctor and/or cancer care team should find out more and offer some help with your distress.
The American Cancer Society explains,
“Not only does this tool tell your team about your emotional health, but it also gives you a chance to talk and work out problems during your visit. Surveys done in cancer clinics have shown that up to 4 in 10 patients have significant levels of distress. You are not alone in your distress.”
“Another part of the distress tool is the Problem List, or a list of things that may be causing your distress. For this, you read through a list of common problems and mark possible reasons for your distress. This helps your cancer care team know where you can best get the help you need. The list of physical problems helps you remember those you should tell your treatment team about.”
For those without a cancer care team, your General Practitioner is an important person to assist you and perhaps organise referrals regarding ticked items on the Problem List.
CLICK HERE for PDF of Problem List from NCCN Guidelines Version 1.2024 Distress Management and see below.
CLICK HERE to see more about this from the American Cancer Society Information.
The Distress score evaluates emotional distress and risk of suicide in patients with cancer. Clinically, for DT scores greater than 5 in patients with cancer, the risk of suicide greatly increases. 3
If your score is greater than 5, then you are at psychological risk and you should seek help from your General Practitioner, Psychologist, Counsellor, Psychiatrist, Medical Practitioner etc.
Once stressors are identified, then taking actions to reduce their negative effect on your mind will likely expand your times of feeling good.
Steps
Identify Stressors (using problem list).
Prioritise stressors according to intensity.
Brainstorm ways to reduce these as stressors.
Take positive action.
Problem List
Physical Concerns
Pain
Sleep
Fatigue
Tobacco use
Substance use
Memory or concentration
Sexual health
Changes in eating
Loss or change of physical abilities
Emotional Concerns
Worry or anxiety
Sadness or depression
Loss of interest or enjoyment
Grief or loss
Fear
Loneliness
Anger
Changes in appearance
Feelings of worthlessness or being a burden
Social Concerns
Relationship with spouse or partner
Relationship with children
Relationship with family members
Relationship with friends or coworkers
Prejudice or discrimination
Practical Concerns
Taking care of myself
Taking care of others
Work
School
Housing
Finances
Insurance
Transportation
Child care
Having enough food
Access to medicine
Spiritual or Religious Concerns
Sense of meaning or purpose
Changes in faith or beliefs
Death, dying, or afterlife
Other Concerns
Reference
Chiang YC, Couper J, Chen JW, Lin KJ, Wu HP. Predictive value of the Distress Thermometer score for risk of suicide in patients with cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2022;30(6):5047-5053.
Tool 2- Detailed Mind Monitoring Tool with Stages of Suicide-How To Help your Mind Book
You may also benefit from monitoring your mind using techniques in the short book Stages of Suicide-How to Help your Mind. When you are feeling good, it is worth setting aside time to prepare and work out some steps to take in preparation for bad times when you might experience indicators of pre-suicide stages. Monitoring your actions and emotions is valuable here. This book explains the six stages people can experience and describes practical ways to identify if you are experiencing them. Practical tools are included to help with maintaining a rational and safe mind.
My mother, Beverley Runcie was close to completing her book about place names of the Bouddi Peninsula – Indigenous and European when she unexpectedly fell ill last October. She passed on after fighting hard to survive. I am now finalising her book for her and I thought I’d share with you some preview excerpts from it. Mum loved words and writing and gained a Master’s degree in Literature. Her book blends her passions of history, words and the bush into a fascinating read about a special part of the earth. Brief excerpts are below.
Myfanwy Webb (left) with Beverley Runcie (right)
The Bouddi Peninsula lies on the north side of the entrance to Broken Bay in New South Wales. It is approximately 100 kilometres by road and only 40 kilometres ‘as the crow flies’ from Sydney. The Peninsula is largely a plateau rising to the highest point of 160 metres at Mt Bouddi within the Bouddi National Park. It has spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean to Manly, Palm Beach, Broken Bay, and Pittwater to the south and Brisbane Water to the north and west.
Early map showing indigenous place names by surveror Felton Mathew 1831
BOMBORA
Beginnings
A bombora is an isolated shallow area in the sea some distance offshore where waves break over a submerged rock, shelf or reef. It can be a shipping hazard as when the sea is calm or at high tide the bombora is not easily seen.
The word is believed to come from a Dharuk Aboriginal word ‘bumbora’ and first used for the bombora in Sydney Harbour at Dobroyd Point. That bombora is now officially named Gowlland Bombora after Commander John Gowlland who drowned there when his boat capsized in 1874. The Dharawal people from the south coast used the word ‘bumbura’. Bombora is one of the few Aboriginal words which have passed into Australian English. It is commonly abbreviated to ‘bommie’ or ‘bommy’.
The word bombora has been listed by F.C. Bennett in 1968 as an Aboriginal word meaning ’water swirling around sunken rocks’ which is as good a description as any.
Putty Bombora (West Reef) looking out from Bullimah Beach. Photo by Myfanwy Webb
History
There are two bomboras off the Bouddi Peninsula. The larger is off the east end of Maitland Bay and is called the Maitland Bombora. This is registered with the Geographical Names Board of NSW. The smaller bombora is off the east end of Putty Beach and is named on some maps as East Bombora. Note however, the Royal Australian Navy’s hydrographic survey map of Broken Bay names the Maitland Bombora as East Reef and the Putty Beach bombora as West Reef.”
BOUDDI FARM, Killcare Heights
History
Situated at 251 The Scenic Road, Bouddi Farm was the home of Australian artist Russell Drysdale (1912-1981) and his wife Maisie. The property adjoining the Bouddi National Park was bought by the Drysdales in 1964. Drysdale commissioned architect Guilford Bell to design the house, which was in three pavilions, one each for sleeping, living and working although a separate studio was built a little later. The house, finished in 1966 faced north with extensive views over bushland and Brisbane Water and it was here that Drysdale and his wife entertained family and friends, many of them local.
Drysdale was knighted in 1969. He lived and painted at Bouddi Farm until his death in 1981. Maisie Drysdale remained at Bouddi Farm until she died in 2001 and the property was sold the following year.
This guide is a short explanation of the six stages of suicide with practical activities to help you prepare and assist your mind in the event it becomes irrational and unsafe.
Roy Baumeister, a social psychologist described these stages that people experience prior to carrying out suicidal acts.
Included is a mind-monitoring tool to assist you in identifying if your mind is displaying signs of reacting within the various six stages. This tool provides actions you can do to support your mind. A link to a printable PDF of the tool is included.
At the end of this guide, you can find a list of help crisis hotlines for various countries.
My original article is independently described as a:
‘Very good report, written in a humanistic way. The observed stages of suicide are of serious scientific interest, i.e. can help in preventive terms’.
The more you understand how your thoughts and emotions respond in irrational ways the more you can transform your actions beyond the influence of an unhelpful mind to that of a supportive mind and live freely and fully.
If you are a therapist, this is a useful resource for your clients. It also is filled with illuminating content for those people curious about the irrationality of our minds and how to prevent that from interfering with our quality of life.
“Stages of Suicide is an excellent insight into the though patterns of those dealing with suicide. Each stage very well describes the kind of thoughts, behaviours and emotions one feels as their condition continues, which I found extremely accurate and relatable. As for someone who has experienced these stages second hand, this is an incredible tool that can help non-suicidal people understand what it is like to be suicidal which I believe is one of the most important things for dealing with suicide on the larger scale.
After each stage there is a ‘prepare your mind’ section which works as a helping hand/’what to do about this’ counterpart of the stage. I found this to be really useful in not only making the content a lot less daunting and overwhelming to take in, but the reader is reminded that regardless of what stage you find yourself or someone close to you in there is always a solution to help you get out of it, which is exactly how this book approaches the terror of suicidal ideation.
Moreover, the mind monitoring tool at the end seems incredibly useful to help the user understand their own thoughts and emotions as they go through stages as well as help to generate some rational thinking patterns.
Overall this is an extremely insightful and practical helping hand for those dealing with suicide. Definitely recommend this to anyone who are either going through it or know someone who is, this book can help!“
“It’s not often I find myself holding my breath as I read a book, however in the opening story of Wild: Life death encounters with wild animals, I was doing exactly that.
The shark encounter at Murramarang Beach raised those old fears which were embedded into everyone who watched the 1975 classic, Jaws. I watched that film as a child and was terrified for some time of the overcast days at the beach, when you couldn’t see what was under the surface. Even though I know Dr Myfawney Webb, and am familiar with many of her stories of an adventurous life, I was still riveted to the pages of my kindle as I followed her narrative of the shark encounter.
Myfawney has a knack for bringing you into her experiences, through the truth of the tales within this book and the authenticity of her voice.
It’s a real talent to be able to convey emotions such as desperation, fear, sadness and terror while staying true and real to her story.
Dr Webb has achieved this, and it was a real joy to see her stories brought to life with such passion.
I can highly recommend this book to any lovers of adventure, wildlife, Australian experiences and those who like to read a book perched on the edge of their seat.”
Helen Menzies
5.0 out of 5 stars Journeys with Myf
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 17 October 2021
“It seems to happen in my life that I set out for an adventure and it’s dramatically rearranged by the gods into one of those deep priceless experiences.”
So says Dr Myf Webb in Life Death Encounters, and it’s no exaggeration. The book is a stirring tale of derring-do, told in an authentic down-to-earth no-fuss Australian voice.
“I … reflected on how I had somehow survived three direct active threats on my life by three very different types of animal, a Great White Shark, an Eastern Brown Snake and now a wild buffalo bull.”
To that list of adventures the spellbound reader can add spiders, wild horses, wild donkeys, beached whales, the hunt for secretive possums as part of her doctorate work, and being thrown from her horse when it was attacked by a bull-Arab hunting dog intent on murder.
Phew.
Most of these stories were written by Mfy Webb during her year-long treatment for cancer. In a lifetime of challenges this was yet another to overcome. The details of that adventure are yet to be published, but readers of Life Death Encounters will know to anticipate another inspiring journey of curiosity and courage.”
menace aforethought
5.0 out of 5 stars Wild by Nature
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 3 October 2021
“It’s wonderful to see these works collected into a book. These are stories not just of the wild, but of the inner being, how we tread our path through the world, how we learn about ourselves and how to become a fully engaged person through challenges that we sometimes seek and which are sometimes thrown at us by life.
The stories not only surprise with the breadth of Myf’s experience from her work as a mammal specialist, travelling and living in remote Australia, but also in her love of animals and the wilderness in general. She takes on an immersing ride surfing, fascinated by a shark attack until the reality of the risk finally hits home. ‘This is the first time in my life I have completely and absolutely maxed out on exerting my body physically.’ We are there with her, feeling that intense moment, the stress of trying to get back to shore when there are no waves to help and splashing could be the worst possible idea! Fortunately, this is followed by ‘White and pure EUPHORIA’, and she is safe on the shore. But danger was never far behind her in the bush while she studied mammals, or even when she was young, and being confronted with angry brown snakes as well as death adders, yet that didn’t seem to faze her. Although she has learnt to respect the angry brown snake a little more over time. I remember going out with her and her reptile specialist husband, Johnno, on one of his field trips to collect death adders near Darwin. My partner John and I were in the back of the ute as he drove along a road between rice fields where he would jump out from time to time and bag one, only to toss it in the back with us! One thing I learned from our early time living in the upstairs flat from them in Glebe, where they were breeding Funnel web spiders to feed his study animals – death adders – life was never dull around Myf! A photo of her in the book, smiling while a python winds itself around her neck is a classic!
Whale rescues and her surprise at the bond she formed with one, her hundreds of efforts trying to trap wild Rock-ringtail possums in Kakadu, and I know she had to wear beekeepers kit at least at times to protect her from swarms of killer mosquitos, lost in the Kimberly among ‘dodgy mineshafts’ with a ‘team of blokes’, ‘waking up in the morning, la de la de la, walking down the sandy creek bed,’ and being confronted by a wild buffalo, one of the most dangerous animals you can encounter in the bush, the scientist in her even taking in that he pawed the ground with his left foot, so perhaps one part of the 7% of ‘left-handed’ creatures! How she escaped this situation is classic. She came off less well when her horse she was riding was attacked by a dog, ending in a 15-kilometre trek with a broken arm and a one-handed drive to hospital!
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
This quote from Alice in Wonderland seems particularly apt when I think of how Myf has crashed her way through life to contribute enormously to our understanding of the natural world, and perhaps this is how people have to be to do this work. So, it is not surprising that she has fought cancer with the same chutzpah, and now has given the world a wonderful collection of stories from her adventures to inspire new generations to get out there and go for it!”
You can now listen to Dr Ralph Moss and I talk about using my anticancer strategy.
This aims to potentially combat cancer by suppressing biochemical pathways. This is complementary to traditional cancer treatments using primarily pre clinical evidence such as in vitro, in vivo and relevant human studies.
Click the link below to listen.
For more info about my strategy, you can go to: TargetCancerNaturally.com
My new book WILD Life Death Encounters with Wild Animals, true stories, is soon to be launched as both a Kindle E-Book and Paperback version. Launch Date is Monday 4th October 2021
This book is a compilation of my blog post series of encounters with wild animals.
I’d just like to thank all of you who have been reading my posts over the years. You have helped inspire me to write more and make sure my writing ‘fire stays alight.
The book description is;
“The compelling, dramatic series of white-knuckle encounters with a medley of wild animals keeps you turning the pages, feverish to know how Myfanwy manages to escape alive. A risk taker, she likes living life on the edge and in this adventure-packed memoir, you’ll discover how in the remote forests, deserts, and oceans of Australia, she sidestepped death not once but multiple times. If you fear snakes, spiders, sharks or dogs, this book is for you.
These stories span her childhood to adult encounters. They include incidents while traveling with her family to remote locations in Australia, to close calls with wild animals during biological fieldwork in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Other incidents happened while surfing and riding her beloved horse.
Myfanwy’s curiosity and depth of understanding the behaviour of animals, is reflected in the way she describes these contacts with wild animals. Her stories interweave a love of animals and nature, with adrenalin and adventure.”
Some of the comments from my series, posted here include;
Maria said of Cujo- the Attack “I could picture it as if I was there”.
John said of El Toro – “Very clever and brave – El bloody Toro made me laugh aloud. What amazing bush experiences of wildness you have had – so exceedingly rare – I am jealous. I also learnt that you need agility to catch Rock Possums, so that’s one career lost to me.”
Ben – “Great stories about spideys, I love them myself!”
Bronwyn said of Eaten Alive- “Fantastic story!”
Angela said of Eaten Alive – “Oh wow a compelling story! Interesting behaviours demonstrated in the part of both fish and human!”
If you’d like to write a Review for this book send me an email at myfanwy@myfanwywebb.com and I’ll send you a free electronic copy.
(To be eligible to contribute to Amazon reviews, you need to have purchased $50 worth of books from Amazon in the past year).
Please share this link if you know someone who would enjoy these stories.
Magnolia etching by the Australian Artist Lionel Lindsay (brother to Norman Lindsay)
Asleep in a foreign house, I’ll half wake thinking I’m in my childhood room with the adjoining terracotta tiled veranda just outside. After a moment I realise I am not there at all. Nor am I at my current home with the leaning eucalypts that seem to peer inside the bedroom.
This fuzzy, disconnecting feeling happened a lot recently during a week away, maybe because the flowering gardens of the holiday rental reminded me of my original family home, which was full of assorted pink and white azaleas and the green brown leaves of the magnolia tree. My subconscious mind began to go back in time. I’d wander along the silent neighbourhood streets full of opulent park-like gardens full of spring colour. I have not ridden my pushbike or run with my dog along these streets for 32 years. My memories were forged during thirteen years of living in a heritage house set on a leafy suburban quarter-acre block. Memories that are spiced rich with smell, colour, textures and feelings.
Somehow, just a few days after that first trip away since months of covid, I ended up driving by the house I grew up in on my way home from a trip to Sydney. What happened next squashed that disconnected, fuzzy feeling but has also given me a mind-bending riddle that I’m just now figuring out.
As I drove by my childhood home, I noticed a yellow development sign pinned to the low green and cream brick wall. This is the border wall that’s framed by a massive, native Lillipilly tree that the stingy caterpillars love. Parking the car, I walked over and read that the development is for another dwelling. As I was trying to figure out where exactly this would be, a young bloke carrying stuff for a council pickup walked down the gravel driveway to the grass near me. I asked him if he lives here and he said yes. Without thinking, I quickly said “I did too”. Then I asked him about the development. We ended up swapping stories about living there and I bombarded the poor guy with a bunch of questions, although he didn’t seem to mind.
No, he hadn’t noticed the ghost of Australian artist Lionel Lindsay who lived there too but his mum may have.
Yes, he’s seen the statue commemorating Lionel up at the park.
Yes, it is a really cool house in a heat wave (I felt that cool dry air relief as I whooshed in the door after walking home from school on a hot summer’s day)
Yes, the view from the top of the two 120 year old magnolia trees is pretty good. (I now saw into the hidden garden across the road and felt that exhilaration of climbing up high).
The pool is a lot of upkeep, and the little pond is still there. (I could see the light blue ripples as the sunlight sparked into the pool and I smelt the earthy dark waters of the tiny pond).
Yes, he’s seen lots of the funnel webs too.
Funnel web spider in attack position
As we talked, I could look right up the orange gravel drive to the far porch and apart from a flowering white climber stretching to the roof, and a BMW parked in the drive, the scene looked unchanged since my childhood. I kept noticing the wrong car and the image kept pulling me back to the present. But then I’d be remembering standing right there as a kid, talking about how my cattle dog bailed up a Funnel Webb spider under the flowering wisteria that draped over the pergola out the back. His dog did the same thing and he was worried, but I said I was worried too but then found out dogs are immune to the spider’s venom. Then I pointed to the gutter nearest us and told the guy that there was a funnel web spider there one night. While I was on a roll talking about spiders, I pointed to the gravel drive and recast how I had trodden barefoot on a huntsman spider in the dark that bit me. We talked about the neighbours and how the bushy creek at the end of the road is gone now and how I used to cut the lawn edges along the gutter with a manual rotor tool and how just this month I bought one for my place after all these years.
I think what really helped me consolidate my childhood memories of living in that house, was the easy flowing conversation with a young man who was gathering his own happy memories of living there. Every ten years or so I have driven past my childhood house, and I’m afraid to admit, it jarred me to look at the ‘new’ tasteful steel fence and the different orange plants and neat hedges. Now, this sensation dissolved thanks to a short but powerful story-swapping conversation with a stranger.
My bedroom opened out to this veranda (I took this photo ready for dancing for my 18th Birthday)
Jean Lindsay circa 1900 – 1910
After leaving the house, I drove the exact route I’d taken as a kid, threading through the streets where I’d take off on my bike or with the dog. My choice of streets meant I avoided the steep hills and traffic and the route took me past my favourite gardens. I noticed during the slow drive that the real estate looked more polished than I remember. What I found interesting, was as I instinctively turned into the various streets and recognised the scenery, it felt easy and okay. Just like during that conversation. I expected it to feel familiar, but the discomfort was gone. This surprised me. Remembering the free-flowing bike rides here felt good. This remembering may be the past, but the past is as real as the present as I drove my same childhood route decades later. I’m still not sure how to describe this but it feels like some sort of validation of my past and childhood and all that good stuff that goes with it. Not something to forget but rather to remember and cherish.
Me as a kid at home
The final layer I discovered when delving into this concept of shared memories is how we share connections to special things. One of those special things for me I share with Lionel Lindsay. A man I never met but nonetheless, as a kid, I had felt his somewhat judgmental vibe whilst growing up in his old house. One thing I didn’t divulge during the conversation with the current inhabitant, is that once or twice in the last few decades I drove past the house around Christmas time and I’d stop and snap off a monster sized magnolia flower from one of the two old trees, to take home. These are one of my favourite flowers. They are the size of a dinner plate and emit a heavy heady scent. The petals are thick and smooth and shine with a regal ivory colour.
I planted a magnolia tree in the garden where I currently live. It signifies home and is grounding to look at even if I feel a twinge of discord. I don’t think I’ll feel that twinge anymore.
Like me, Lionel admired the very same two magnolia trees and their repeated flux of flowers every year. The blooms inspired him to create beautiful artwork. They may also have become an anchor for him as they are for me. One of his magnolia works is entitled “Lionel’s Place”.
The young fella told me that after the recent big storms, the arborists said how they are amazed at how solid and strong those two huge Magnolia trees are. I love that. I’d say Lionel would too.
Choose a tree that grew there naturally before. By growing original plants you create an ecosystem that provides housing and food for native insects, birds, amphibians, mammals and reptiles. It will attract original animal species that evolved to live on that particular piece of ground. This also means your tree will grow easily because it is pre adapted to the microclimate and soil conditions that it grows in. This translates to less work for you such as less watering. Original plants are known as provenance plants.
For a thriving tree, it is best to grow seedlings germinated from plants currently growing as close to your patch of ground as you can. If you can’t raise the seedlings yourself or convince a nursery or farmer to help you, then try and choose identical species from nurseries with stock sourced within the local region.
Peron’s Tree Frog (Litoria peronii) Photo: Jonathan Webb
To resurrect an intricate ecosystem, choose a few of the dominant local tree species and a few understory species that once grew there. This will provide the structure for the ecosystem to grow from. Birds may spread additional types of local seeds over time. As your ecosystem expands and grows denser you may notice an increase in diversity of animal species visiting and inhabiting it. The number of animals should increase too.
Photo: Myfanwy Jane Webb
If you are not sure which area to start on and you have more than one vegetation community on your land, begin at the closest interface of them. Begin planting one vegetation community plus the second community next to it simultaneously if you can. This will provide resources to a higher diversity of native species than what live in just the one habitat type.
You may have only a balcony. Choosing a true native from your local area to grow in a pot will create habitat for local insects and may even entice nearby original bird species to feed or perch from it.
Tiger Moth (Amata marella) showing warning or aposematic colouration. Photo: Jonathan Webb
Street trees, verges of roads, degraded land and development sites are excellent opportunities to provide habitat for animals that originally lived in an area. Birds flying through suburbs use trees to rest, feed and nest. If the original provenance trees and bushes grow throughout a suburb, this helps the original bird species that live close-by rather than other native but non-local types. For instance, growing native grevillieas along streets and in gardens where they never grew naturally can encourage the non-local wattlebird honeyeater to dominate. This bird species can be highly aggressive to other birds.
If you cannot identify the plant species growing nearby, you can use a plant ID App that allows identification from photos, or send photos preferably with fruiting bodies or flowers to a botanist, local land care or gardening group to help you.
If most of the land near you has been cleared, you may need to hunt around your local area to find the nearest natural remnants of original vegetation. Look for changes in geology as this is usually reflected in vegetation differences. You’ll want to match the same remnant vegetation to the geology and soil type on your land. Old photographs can help with identifying what grew before clearing occurred. Your local library may have historical books showing photographs of vegetation for your area.
Forest foliage Photo: Myfanwy Jane Webb
So next time you ask yourself what tree do I plant? By choosing true original natives and resurrecting your natural ecosystem, you have the power to provide homes and food for a flourishing community of native animals and plants. This goes a long way to caring for our planet.
Or you can read stories about my connection to the land. One is titled Minimal Me.
If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to your email inbox, just pop your email address in the subscription box located either on the last page below or on the right side of your screen.
If you’d like to make a comment on this article you can leave a reply below.
Data from studies for biomedical use are insufficient and incomparable for determining risk to health from 5G and 6G communications is what I have found. Some studies show these radio waves alter the structural components of DNA but there is yet to be determined a threshold level of detrimental dose in the context of communications.
Last year I underwent life saving photon radiation treatment. Scary as it was, once I researched how it works and how it relates to the physics of the Atom bombs I felt more at ease. So a few days ago I discovered that a mobile phone tower located a few hundred meters from my residence, is assigned to transmit 5G radio waves through my house as it falls in direct line of the next transmission tower. We already have high tensile power lines running along our road but I told myself about those when they were erected, “you can’t worry about everything”. To alleviate my concerns and my curiosity, I did some digging and this is what I found so far. So you know, I don’t claim to be an expert on this topic but I do have a background in medical research which I have found helpful.
What I have learnt about radiation
Radiation is energy radiated in the form of rays, waves or particles. It is either ionizing radiation or non ionizing or indirect ionizing. Ionizing is strong enough to remove electrons from orbiting an atom leaving the atom charged or ionized. Indirectly ionizing radiation from neutral particles deposits energy into the medium through a two step process. Either, a charged particle is released into the medium by liberating atomic electrons or generating positrons, neutrons release protons or heavier ions; or the released charged particles deposit energy to the medium through direct Coulumb interactions. A Coulumb interaction is the force between two stationary charged particles.
Ionizing, indirect ionizing and non ionizing radiation cause damage to DNA. 5G is a form of high frequency radio wave, 6G is even higher frequency and both are described as non ionizing radiation. An example of indirect ionising radiation is photons. Photons are light energy that is an indirect ionizing radiation that pass through medium and do not linger and have a half life like ionizing radiation. Photons and other indirect ionizing radiation cause damage to DNA with radiation damaging different types of macromolecules. Either way, a classification of indirect ionizing or non ionizing radiation is perhaps only relevant in terms of mode of damage to cells but not to whether or not damage occurs. Non ionizing radiation such as Ultra Violet radiation causes DNA damage by initiating a reaction between thymine molecules that are structural components of DNA. The start of cancer cell proliferation is often caused by DNA damage.
What is known about various ionization radiation types is the response of particular tissue to the damaging effect of radiation. This is called the effective dose and it incorporates a tissue weighting factor which is a measure of absorption. Unfortunately, according to the American Federal Communications Commission there is currently no radio frequency RF exposure standard. However the SAR or specific absorption rate expressed as units of watts per kg whole body absorption of RF energy by a standing human adult has shown to occur at a maximum rate when the frequency if 80 MHz (0.08 GHz) to 100 MHz (0.1 GHz) (OET Bulletin 1999 Cleveland & Ulcek). This report written in 1999, well before current technologies exist describes the SAR and the potential for harm and states;
“Because of this ‘resonance’ phenomenon, RF safety standards have taken account of this frequency dependence of whole-body human absorption, and the most restrictive limits on exposure are found to be in this frequency range (the very high frequency of “VHF” frequency range.”.
5G
The bandwidth that 5G is between (30000 MHz) 30 GHz and (300000 MHz) 300GHz (millimeter band) which is super high to extreme high frequencies, presumably well above the maximum SAR absorption rate for harm to the human body. To put this in perspective household wireless device and appliance are within the range 3kHz to 6GHz (to 6000 MHz) very low to super high frequencies. See Table 1.
Table 1 Frequency Spectrum
Source: University of Notra Dame
In terms of SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), gonads and eyes have the highest tissue rating factor and thus the highest absorption rate and are most vulnerable to radiation damage. The ratings for tissue types with highest to lowest are:
What is the detriment from radiation of this super to extreme high radio frequency level that 5G and 6G uses? Detriment is a term used to measure of the total harm that will result after exposure to radiation. What is the threshold dose for biological damage from the 30 to 300GHz bandwidth of radio frequency radiation? The document that the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency referred me to when I made enquiries to them is An Opinion on Potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks on 2015. I looked at the 14 studies in the 30-300GHz range cited in this report and have listed these, added their abstracts and commented on my interpretation further down in this article.
I did a brief literature search and found one study (Baste 2008) of military men (10,497 respondents) in the Norwegian Navy exposed to radio frequency fields that disturbingly found
“In all age groups there were significant linear trends with higher prevalence of involuntary childlessness with higher self-reported exposure to radio frequency fields”
There are studies that suggest significant harm from radio frequency radiation from mobile phone towers, phone and other communications but there is an absence of research into very high radio frequency waves, especially how these affect tissue when emitted across vast space such is how 5G and 6G operates.
Level of Detriment
My main concern is there are no existing studies to enable us to know the threshold level or the level of detriment to the human body, especially one that is radio-sensitive from photon therapy as mine is now. (Radiotherapy has made my body more susceptible to all radiation exposure including UV radiation damage). Also, there is no knowledge of the level of detriment to host related factors that alter the susceptibility to radiation injury such as age, smoking and co-morbidities such as infections, malignancy, collagen vascular disease, diabetes and hypertension.
There is no knowledge on the level of detriment to those individuals with rare genetic conditions such as Bloom’s Syndrome, Fanconi’s anaemia and ataxia telangiectasia. These people have advanced cellular radiosensitivity due to mutations in their repair genes. Until rigorous studies investigating the risk to human health of this specific radiation proposed for the 5G and 6G communications, I am concerned for myself, my family’s and my community’s short and long-term health. Our government has a duty of care to its people and we expect as a democratic society for this to be upheld.
My Comments on studies in the 30-300 GHz range cited in
In summary, nearly all of these studies (14) show detriment to health of exposure in the 30-300GHz range. The ones that do not, either have limitations in methodology or do not seem relatable to the mechanics of 5G and 6G wave length usage. In the latter, this is most likely because the context of these studies is not for investigating the detrimental effects of radio waves but rather aimed at investigating the effects of radio waves for therapeutic biomedical use. This results in incomparable data. The data is relevant for the field of biomedicine but not the field of communications.
The positive side of the biomedical studies is that there is potential for this particular radiation like other radiation types (once the physical parameters are fully understood and described) to have a useful biomedical role. However, until threshold levels of detriment (especially to DNA) in the context of 5G and 6G use are known in the context of communications, I remain concerned with the short and long effect of the terahertz radio waves on human health and also other biological organisms.
Study 1
Beneduci A (2009). Evaluation of the potential in vitro antiproliferative effects of
millimeter waves at some therapeutic frequencies on RPMI 7932 human skin malignant
melanoma cells. Cell biochemistry and biophysics, 55, 25-32.
Abstract
The potential antiproliferative effects of low power millimeter waves (MMWs) at 42.20 and 53.57 GHz on RPMI 7932 human skin melanoma cells were evaluated in vitro in order to ascertain if these two frequencies, comprised in the range of frequency used in millimeter wave therapy, would have a similar effect when applied in vivo to malignant melanoma tumours. Cells were exposed for 1 h exposure/day and to repeated exposure up to a total of four treatments. Plane wave incident power densities <1 mW/cm(2) were used in the MMWs-exposure experiments so that the radiations did not cause significant thermal effects. Numerical simulations of Petri dish reflectivity were made using the equations for the reflection coefficient of a multilayered system. Such analysis showed that the power densities transmitted into the aqueous samples were < or = 0.3 mW/cm(2). Two very important and general biological endpoints were evaluated in order to study the response of melanoma cells to these radiations, i.e. cell proliferation and cell cycle. Herein, we show that neither cell doubling time nor the cell cycle of RPMI 7932 cells was affected by the frequency of the GHz radiation and duration of the exposure, in the conditions above reported.
Limitations of Study
This study found that very high frequency radiation doesn’t increase proliferation of cancer cells in vivo which is not surprising as it is the microenvironment of the host that effects growth of cancer cells and the risk from radiation is in causing DNA damage that begins the proliferation process.
Study 2
Clothier RH and Bourne N (2003). Effects of THz exposure on human primary
keratinocyte differentiation and viability. Journal of Biological Physics, 29, 179–85.
Abstract
Primary human keratinocytes can be driven, in vitro, to differentiate, via activation of transglutaminases, by raising the culture medium calcium concentration above 1 mM. This results intransglutaminase regulated cross linking of specific amino acids with resultant cornified envelope formation. The differentiation was monitored via the incorporation of fluorescein cadaverine into the cornified envelops. This differentiation assay was combined with assessment of reductive capacity ofresazurin, as a measure of cellactivity/viability. One primary aim is to assess the effects of THz radiation on human skin, since medical imaging of the body through the skin is envisaged. Human keratinocytes, at passage 2 from isolation, were grown to confluence, and transported in a buffered salt solution at22 °C. The exposure to the THz source was for 10, 20 or 30 minutes at room temperature. No donor specific inhibition or stimulation of cell activity, compared with non-exposed cells, was noted following exposure in the range 1 to 3 THz, at up to 0.45J/cm2.The differentiation also occurred in a normal way, for exposed and non-exposed cells, with the FC incorporation increasing between day 3 and day 8, as previously noted.
Limitations of Study
There are only three donors used when assessing THz radiation on the differentiation of skin cells. Three is perhaps not a large enough sample size to draw conclusions from. What race were these people? There is not enough methodology information to evaluate this further.
This study was funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSR) which states on their website their strategic focus is
“This research area is expected to contribute significantly to the full realisation of 5G and to advances in telecommunications further into the future.”
Study 3
Hintzsche H, Jastrow C, Kleine-Ostmann T, Stopper H, Schmid E, Schrader T (2011).
Terahertz radiation induces spindle disturbances in human-hamster hybrid cells, Radiat
Res, 175(5), 569-74.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate and quantify the production of spindle disturbances in A(L) cells, a human-hamster hybrid cell line, by 0.106 THz radiation (continuous wave). Monolayer cultures in petri dishes were exposed for 0.5 h to 0.106 THz radiation with power densities ranging from 0.043 mW/cm(2) to 4.3 mW/cm(2) or were kept under sham conditions (negative control) for the same period. As a positive control, 100 µg/ml of the insecticide trichlorfon, which is an aneuploidy-inducing agent, was used for an exposure period of 6 h. During exposure, the sample containers were kept at defined environmental conditions in a modified incubator as required by the cells. Based on a total of 6,365 analyzed mitotic cells, the results of two replicate experiments suggest that 0.106 THz radiation is a spindle-acting agent as predominately indicated by the appearance of spindle disturbances at the anaphase and telophase (especially lagging and non-disjunction of single chromosomes) of cell divisions. The findings in the present study do not necessarily imply disease or injury but may be important for evaluating possible underlying mechanisms.
Detrimental health effects found
This study found significant DNA damage by THz radiation.
“Based on a total of 6,365 analyzed mitotic cells, the results of two replicate experiments suggest that 0.106 THz radiation is a spindle-acting agent as predominately indicated by the appearance of spindle disturbances at the anaphase and telophase (especially lagging and non-disjunction of single chromosomes) of cell divisions”.
Study 4
Hintzsche H, Jastrow C, Kleine-Ostmann T, Kärst U, Schrader T, Stopper H (2012).
Terahertz electromagnetic fields (0.106 THz) do not induce manifest genomic damage in
vitro, PLoS One, 7(9), e46397.
Abstract
Terahertz electromagnetic fields are non-ionizing electromagnetic fields in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 THz. Potential applications of these electromagnetic fields include the whole body scanners, which currently apply millimeter waves just below the terahertz range, but future scanners will use higher frequencies in the terahertz range. These and other applications will bring along human exposure to these fields. Up to now, only a limited number of investigations on biological effects of terahertz electromagnetic fields have been performed. Therefore, research is strongly needed to enable reliable risk assessment.Cells were exposed for 2 h, 8 h, and 24 h with different power intensities ranging from 0.04 mW/cm2 to 2 mW/cm2, representing levels below, at, and above current safety limits. Genomic damage on the chromosomal level was measured as micronucleus formation. DNA strand breaks and alkali-labile sites were quantified with the comet assay. No DNA strand breaks or alkali-labile sites were observed as a consequence of exposure to terahertz electromagnetic fields in the comet assay. The fields did not cause chromosomal damage in the form of micronucleus induction.
Comments
Although not significant this study did find that after the long exposure, the DNA in the tail region was increased in comparison to the sham-exposed sample. They conclude that “No induction of DNA strand breaks or chromosomal damage was observed. Very small alterations might not have been detectable because the cells showed considerable background level of DNA damage”.
[They used an assay known as a Comet Assay. Definition of tail moment: term incorporates a measure of both the smallest detectable size of migrating DNA (reflected in the tail length) and the number of relaxed/broken pieces (represented by the intensity of DNA in the tail. The tail moment indicates the degree of the genotoxic effect on the DNA.]
Study 5
Hwang Y, Ahn J Mun J Bae S Uk Jeong Y,Vinokurov NA and Kim P. In vivo analysis of THz
wave irradiation induced acute inflammatory response in skin by laser scanning confocal
microscopy. Optic Express 2014, 22 (10), 11465.
Abstract
The recent development of THz sources in a wide range of THz frequencies and power levels has led to greatly increased interest in potential biomedical applications such as cancer and burn wound diagnosis. However, despite its importance in realizing THz wave based applications, our knowledge of how THz wave irradiation can affect a live tissue at the cellular level is very limited. In this study, an acute inflammatory response caused by pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin of a live mouse was analyzed at the cellular level using intravital laser-scanning confocal microscopy. Pulsed THz wave (2.7 THz, 4 μs pulsewidth, 61.4 μJ per pulse, 3Hz repetition), generated using compact FEL, was used to irradiate an anesthetized mouse’s ear skin with an average power of 260 mW/cm(2) for 30 minutes using a high-precision focused THz wave irradiation setup. In contrast to in vitro analysis using cultured cells at similar power levels of CW THz wave irradiation, no temperature change at the surface of the ear skin was observed when skin was examined with an IR camera. To monitor any potential inflammatory response, resident neutrophils in the same area of ear skin were repeatedly visualized before and after THz wave irradiation using a custom-built laser-scanning confocal microscopy system optimized for in vivo visualization. While non-irradiated control skin area showed no changes in the number of resident neutrophils, a massive recruitment of newly infiltrated neutrophils was observed in the THz wave irradiated skin area after 6 hours, which suggests an induction of acute inflammatory response by the pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin via a non-thermal process.
Detrimental health effects found
“ a massive recruitment of newly infiltrated neutrophils was observed in the THz wave irradiated skin area after 6 hours, which suggests an induction of acute inflammatory response by the pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin via a non-thermal process”.
Study 6
Kirichuk VF, EfimovaN, Andronov E (2009). Effect of High Power Terahertz Irradiation on
Platelet Aggregation and Behavioral Reactions of Albino Rats. Bull Exp Biol Med, 48(5),
746–9.
Abstract
Intensive terahertz irradiation at the nitric oxide emission and absorption spectrum frequencies (150.176-150.664 GHz) applied for 60 min to male albino rats subjected to acute immobilization stress enhanced platelet aggregation and induced signs of depression.
Detrimental health effects found
This study on behavioral reactions and aggregation activity found enhanced platelet aggregation and induced signs of depression.
Study 7
Kirichuk VF, Tsymbal AA (2009). Use of Terahertz Electromagnetic Waves for Correcting
The influence of terahertz range waves at 129.0 GHz (frequency of the molecular spectrum of radiation and absorption of atmospheric oxygen) on faulty coagulation hemostasis and its fibrinolysis potential was studied under conditions of experimental stress. Considerable hypercoagulation and the suppression of fibrinolysis of blood were observed in experimental animals exposed to experimental stress. The influence of 129.0 GHz radiation was studied in animals under conditions of immobilizing stress. No considerable changes in the faulty indicators of hemostasis and fibrinolysis were observed for 5-min exposure duration. In case of 15-min exposure, partial normalization of indicators characterizing the coagulation cascade and fibrinolysis was observed. The influence of terahertz radiation on the specified frequencies within 30 min caused full normalization of hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis as the studied indicators of a coagulation link of the system of hemostasis and fibrinolysis. Thus, on the basis of the presented data it is possible to draw a conclusion about positive effect of terahertz radiation at the frequency of the molecular spectrum of radiation and absorption of atmospheric oxygen (129.0 GHz) on the coagulation properties and fibrinolysis of blood in animals under conditions of immobilizing stress. A 30-min exposure proved to be especially effective for restoration of the indicators of hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis activity of blood.
Comments
This study found Terahertz range waves alters hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis activity of blood. My intpretation of this finding is that shows detriment to health however the authors conclude that this is a positive effect under conditions of stress.
Study 8
Le Quement C, Nicolaz CN, Zhadobov M, Desmots F, Sauleau R, Aubry M, Michel D, Le
Drean Y (2012). Whole-Genome Expression Analysis in Primary Human Keratinocyte Cell
Cultures Exposed to 60 GHz Radiation. Bioelectromagnetics, 33, 147-58.
Abstract
Human corneal epithelial (HCE-T) and human lens epithelial (SRA01/04) cells derived from the human eye were exposed to 60 gigahertz (GHz) millimeter-wavelength radiation for 24 h. There was no statistically significant increase in the micronucleus (MN) frequency in cells exposed to 60 GHz millimeter-wavelength radiation at 1 mW/cm2 compared with sham-exposed controls and incubator controls. The MN frequency of cells treated with bleomycin for 1 h provided positive controls. The comet assay, used to detect DNA strand breaks, and heat shock protein (Hsp) expression also showed no statistically significant effects of exposure. These results indicate that exposure to millimeter-wavelength radiation has no effect on genotoxicity in human eye cells.
Comments
This provides promising results of no detriment to eyes from 60 HGz radiation.
Limitations of study
The authors describe the limitations;
“Overall, it appears that exposure to millimeter-wavelength radiation has no genotoxicity effect, and does not alter Hsp expression in the absence of thermal effects. However, our study was performed on specific conditions. It has been shown that the effects of microwaves including millimeter-wavelength radiation strongly depend on a number of physical parameters such as frequency, modulation, polarization, background extremely low-frequency and static magnetic fields. We have to be more careful in comparing the data which were performed at different conditions. In addition, we have to consider rigid statistical calculations which we might be missing. In this study, we obtained high statistical power in the MN test; however, we could not obtain enough statistical power in the comet assay. We should be carefully aware of these statistical issues.”
Study 9
Nicolaz CN, Zhadobov M, Desmots F, Ansart A, Sauleau R, Thouroude D, Michel D, Le
Drean Y (2009). Study of narrow band millimeter-wave potential interactions with
The main purpose of this article is to study potential biological effects of low-power millimeter waves (MMWs) on endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an organelle sensitive to a wide variety of environmental insults and involved in a number of pathologies. We considered exposure frequencies around 60 GHz in the context of their near-future applications in wireless communication systems. Radiations within this frequency range are strongly absorbed by oxygen molecules, and biological species have never been exposed to such radiations in natural environmental conditions. A set of five discrete frequencies has been selected; three of them coincide with oxygen spectral lines (59.16, 60.43, and 61.15 GHz) and two frequencies correspond to the spectral line overlap regions (59.87 and 60.83 GHz). Moreover, we used a microwave spectroscopy approach to select eight frequencies corresponding to the spectral lines of various molecular groups within 59-61 GHz frequency range. The human glial cell line, U-251 MG, was exposed or sham-exposed for 24 h with a peak incident power density of 0.14 mW/cm(2). The average specific absorption rate (SAR) within the cell monolayer ranges from 2.64 +/- 0.08 to 3.3 +/- 0.1 W/kg depending on the location of the exposed well. We analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) the level of expression of two endogenous ER-stress biomarkers, namely, the chaperones BiP/GRP78 and ORP150/GRP170. It was found that exposure to low-power MMW does not significantly modify the mRNA levels of these stress-sensitive genes suggesting that ER homeostasis is not altered by low-power MMW at the considered frequencies.
Comments
They state results of the effect of low power waves on homeostasis of cells. I do not know how relevant low power is in mimicking the mechanics of 5G power waves.
Study 10
Ostrovskiy NV, et al. (2005) Application of the terahertz waves in therapy of burn
wounds. in Infrared and Millimeter Waves and 13th International Conference on
Terahertz Electronics, IRMMW-THz 2005.
Comments
This relates to using terahertz waves as a biomedical imaging tool. Like other radiation types, under controlled conditions development of terahertz waves may have a beneficial role in medicine.
Study 11
Swanson ES (2011). Modeling DNA response to THz radiation, Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin
Soft Matter Phys, 83(4 Pt 1), 040901.
Abstract
Collective response of DNA to terahertz electric fields is studied in a simple pair bond model. We confirm, with some caveats, a previous observation of destabilizing DNA breather modes and explore the parameter dependence of these modes. It is shown that breather modes are eliminated under reasonable physical conditions and that thermal effects are significant.
Comments
DNA “breathing” is defined as a thermally driven process in which base-paired DNA sequences transiently adopt local conformations that depart from their most stable structures.
From my inexpert understanding of this study, I interpret the results to indicate the modeled response of DNA to terahertz electric fields is to alter DNA pair bonds. This suggests detriment to health but it is limited as it is reliant on a model.
Kovalchuk O. (2013a). Intense THz pulses cause H2AX phosphorylation and activate DNA
damage response in human skin tissue. Biomed Opt Express, 4(4), 559-68.
Abstract
Recent emergence and growing use of terahertz (THz) radiation for medical imaging and public security screening raise questions on reasonable levels of exposure and health consequences of this form of electromagnetic radiation. In particular, picosecond-duration THz pulses have shown promise for novel diagnostic imaging techniques. However, the effects of THz pulses on human cells and tissues thus far remain largely unknown. We report on the investigation of the biological effects of pulsed THz radiation on artificial human skin tissues. We observe that exposure to intense THz pulses for ten minutes leads to a significant induction of H2AX phosphorylation, indicating that THz pulse irradiation may cause DNA damage in exposed skin tissue. At the same time, we find a THz-pulse-induced increase in the levels of several proteins responsible for cell-cycle regulation and tumor suppression, suggesting that DNA damage repair mechanisms are quickly activated. Furthermore, we find that the cellular response to pulsed THz radiation is significantly different from that induced by exposure to UVA (400 nm).
Detriment to health found
Authors state; “we have observed that exposure to intense THz pulses induces phosphorylation of H2AX, indicative of the formation of DNA double strand breaks, and at the same time profoundly activates DNA damage response in artificial human skin tissues.
They also found “Simultaneous upregulation of multiple important tumor suppressor proteins in the exposed skin”.
They found DNA damage and then repair.
Study 14
Zeni O, Gallerano GP, Perrotta A, Romanò M, Sannino A, Sarti M, D’Arienzo M, Doria A,
Giovenale E, Lai A, Messina G, Scarfì MR (2007). Cytogenetic observations in human
peripheral blood leukocytes following in vitro exposure to THz radiation: a pilot study.
Health Phys, 92(4), 349-57.
Abstract
Emerging technologies are considering the possible use of Terahertz radiation in different fields ranging from telecommunications to biology and biomedicine. The study of the potential effects of Terahertz radiation on biological systems is therefore an important issue in order to safely develop a variety of applications. This paper describes a pilot study devoted to determine if Terahertz radiation could induce genotoxic effects in human peripheral blood leukocytes. For this purpose, human whole blood samples from healthy donors were exposed for 20 min to Terahertz radiation. Since, to our knowledge, this is the first study devoted to the evaluation of possible genotoxic effects of such radiation, different electromagnetic conditions were considered. In particular, the frequencies of 120 and 130 GHz were chosen: the first one was tested at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0.4 mW g-1, while the second one was tested at SAR levels of 0.24, 1.4, and 2 mW g-1. Chromosomal damage was evaluated by means of the cytokinesis block micronucleus technique, which also gives information on cell cycle kinetics. Moreover, human whole blood samples exposed to 130 GHz at SAR levels of 1.4 and 2 mW g-1 were also tested for primary DNA damage by applying the alkaline comet assay immediately after exposure. The results obtained indicate that THz exposure, in the explored electromagnetic conditions, is not able to induce either genotoxicity or alteration of cell cycle kinetics in human blood cells from healthy subjects.
Comments
The authors note some alteration to DNA; “a slight increase in comet parameters appears in some cases in exposed samples with respect to sham-exposed ones; however, this difference was not statistically significant.”
Limitations of Study
The authors describe limitations; “several critical points have to be considered, and among them the amplitude modulation and the irradiation modulation condition deserve particular attention”.
