More mobile health risks found

Mobile phones have been found to cause more health risks, according to Finnish scientists.

Scientists from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority looked at the effects of mobile phone radiation on human cells rather than those of rats and concluded that radiation from mobile phones causes changes in the brain.

The two-year study found that exposing human cells to mobile phone radiation damaged the safety barrier in the body that stops harmful substances from entering the brain.

Apparently, even low levels of radiation caused the cells in blood vessel walls to shrink, enabling molecules to pass into brain tissue.

Further research is needed to see if the results happened on humans rather than just their cells. But the boffin in charge of the study, Professor Dariusz Leszcynski, said that the blood brain barrier was shown to be affected in animals.

He added that it could have a serious impact on a person's health if the hanges were found to happen in humans.

But his study did not prove that phones were unsafe, simply that they could affect the way the brain worked.

"If it did happen, it could lead to disturbances, such as headaches, feeling tired or problems with sleeping," he said.

Nevertheless, Leszcynski said the research had not yet established any greater danger to health, and admitted that for now there was no scientific reason for introducing any sort of limitation either on use of mobile phones or setting new safety limits.