A couple of days ago I've noticed a very serious article with the clickbait Title
How Wifi Is Slowly Killing You
And honestly, after years devoted to biology and physical chemistry - I have no idea
So, let's find out together.
The post I'm debunking is actually lightened, paraphrased version of this article
Wi-fi signals are basically radio waves of different frequencies that are traveled through electromagnetic spectrum to travel the data wirelessly without any medium.
Strange English, but ok... WiFi is emitting electromagnetic waves, in the GHz frequency range.
The author hasn't told us what exact band of WiFi he was thinking about, but ok, it's somewhere between 1 GHz and 60 GHz, source
It's extremely important to speak precisely because the difference between 1.5 GHz (L-band) and 9 GHz (X-band) is incredible. The first one easily penetrates through the whole mouse in EPR experiment, while the second frequency can be blocked by a few mm of water.
The first sentence and it's already very vague
Sounds amazing, and previously these microwaves were considered to be harmless to us. However, recent studies have proven some shocking results which we must be aware of. It can damage us from top to bottom.
Yes, this is true, and it's implemented in the safety regulations, like this one
At frequencies between 100 kHz and 6 GHz, RF energy absorption is commonly described in terms of the specific absorption rate (SAR), which is a measure of the rate of energy deposition per unit mass of body tissue and is usually expressed in units of watts per kilogram (W/kg). Based on a large amount of historical knowledge, national and international exposure limits have been established to protect the general public against adverse effects associated with acute RF energy exposures
I would be really surprised to see the product that doesn't follow the safety regulation standards
Claim No1:
Wi-fi signals can degrade the functional performance of our brain. Researchers have found out the exposure to signals can reduce the activity of the brain in different places when the person is regularly exposed to the wi-fi or 4G signals.
Thank you for not citing the source... However, I've found the paper cited in a similar article.
The frequency used in this paper was 2.4 GHz (ok...), SAR was about 2 W/kg (also ok, within the limits).
And the conclusions were:
Our findings cannot be directly used to infer whether the similar effects would be observed by other frequency RF-EMF...
However, whether the induced alteration on spontaneous low frequency fluctuations is directly harmful to brain function still needs to be investigated
Claim No2:
Our cardiovascular system is also exposed to wi-fi signals when we are continuously exposed to it. It may potentially cause an increased pressure on the heart and cardiovascular system. The heart rate can respond to the electromagnetic signals and it can increase in the same way as it would for a person who is in stressed conditions.
No source, again... But ok... Here it is, the retracted one
Claim No3:
Increased exposure to wi-fi signals has also been linked to the increased risk of hypertension
Again... But again, I've found it.
My guide is this text
Incredibly, but this paper doesn't even mention the WiFi
Claim No4:
exposure to wi-fi signals has also been linked to the increased risk of hypertension
And the conclusion was:
There were no differences in the percentage of viable sperm between the test and control groups
In addition, in this paper, they also tested the heating of the testicles by holding the laptop on them.
Claim No5:
As discussed above, men can be severely affected due to the wi-fi signals. It is also revealed that females can undergo severe damage in terms of fertility as well. It can damage the egg cells and also cause failed pregnancy, as it can even damage the structure of DNA.
I have no idea how, but let's check the source. This source is actually claiming this, so let's take a closer look.
The authors have performed the measurements of enzymes involved in ROS. And ROS are known to be associated with the fertility... Thus... WiFi = Bad Fertility
Claim No6:
May cause Cancer, wi-fi exposure can also be associated with the increased risk of cancer. When the electromagnetic radiations experimented on the animals, it was found that they were capable of producing tumors in their body.
This is from the youtube
One single anecdote is not science.
Claim No7:
Researchers have shown that exposure of children to wi-fi is a red alert for all parents. It can especially damage their healthy development and growth, and cause various problems as they grow up.
This was published in the leaflet of the Insurance Company.
Claim No8:
Now we also know that low-frequency modulation due to wi-fi signals can affect our sleep and cause us insomnia in a long term. Experiments have now proved that the signals do cause changes in th
The final claim, thanks God...
The study included EEG measurements in 4 different "modes" of cellphone activity.
Statistics is non-existent, spectral analysis (what?) is non-existent and the reproducibility was not even tested.
In other words, reading this paper was wasting of my time.
And here is the quotation from the paper:
Conclusion:
- Microwave radiation in GHz frequency range can be harmful
- This is why we have the regulations to make the products safe
- Papers used to strengthen the claim of danger are based on: 1 retracted paper, 1 wrong citation, 2 non-scientific sources, and 4 papers with the inconclusive results (that means "shitty")
References:
- WiFi bands
- Limits of Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Energy in the Frequency Range from 3 kHz to 300 GHz
- The alteration of spontaneous low frequency oscillations caused by acute electromagnetic fields exposure, link
- Replication of heart rate variability provocation study with 2.4-GHz cordless phone confirms original findings.
- Insomnia: prevalence, consequences and effective treatment
- Use of laptop computers connected to internet through Wi-Fi decreases human sperm motility and increases sperm DNA fragmentation
- 2.45 GHz microwave irradiation-induced oxidative stress affects implantation or pregnancy in mice, Mus musculus.
- Claim No7, from the Insurance Company
- Mobile phone ‘talk-mode’ signal delays EEG-determined sleep onset