Once More: Cell Phones and Brain Cancer?

By Geoff Duncan March 31, 2006

A new study from the Swedish National Institute for Working Life published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health examined mobile phone user among 2,200 cancer patients between 20 and 80 years of age, and an identical number of control cases. Among the cancer patients, 905 were diagnosed with malignant brain tumors, and about a tenth of those patients were heavy mobile phone users. “Heavy” mobile phone use was defined as 2,000 or more hours of mobile phone use, which the study says approximates using a mobile phone for an hour a day for ten years.

The study also found an increase in cancer risk on the side of the head where the telephone was typically used: according the Kjell Mild, the research leader, the results indicate heavy phone users have a 240 percent increased risk of a malignant brain tumor on the side the head where they most often use their phone.

The Swedish study is the largest to date to study the long-term effects of mobile phones on the incidence of cancer. Mobile phones first went to market in Sweden in 1984, earlier than many other countries, so the population of heavy mobile phone users is proportionately larger than many other nations.

The study contradicts recent conclusions from the Dutch Health Council, which conducted an overview of research studies and concluded no research showed radiation from mobile phones and TV towers caused harm. A four-year British study published in January 2006, also found no link between long-term cell phone usage and the most common type of brain tumor.

One way to avoid any risk of developing brain cancer from use of mobile phones might be to use a handsfree headset to get the phone’s radio emitter away from the skull

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Audio / Video

Samsung adding Auracast and 360 Audio to more TVs, phones, and earbuds

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.

Samsung today announced a series of updates for some televisions and a trio of earbuds that will add features across the board, and also allow everything to play together that much more.

Auracast is one of the more interesting features on the way. It essentially allows one device to pick up a signal being broadcast by another, not unlike a radio. Samsung has had Auracast on select TVs for a while now, and it's been available on multiple Galaxy Buds earbuds. Now, it's expanding to phones and tablets. The ability to broadcast will hit the Galaxy S24 and S23 phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, and the Tab S9 series. (They'll all need to have One UI 6.1 or newer.) And the ability to listen to an Auracast broadcast is coming to the Galaxy S24 series, S23 series, Z Fold5, Z Fold4, Z Flip5, Z Flip4, A54 5G, M54 5G, Tab S9 series, Tab S9 FE series and Tab Active 5 5G with One UI 5.1.1 or above.

Mobile

How to get better service — 9 tips for boosting cell phone signal

An iPhone 14 Pro Max with the display turned on. We see the Home Screen and Pixel Pals running in the Dynamic Island.

There are few things more frustrating than experiencing a poor signal on your cell phone. From dropped calls to messages that won’t send and streaming services that stutter and die, a lack of solid signal can cause all kinds of inconveniences.

Sadly, building towers yourself to get more bars isn’t an option — but don’t worry. There are plenty of things you can do to avoid poor cell service interfering with your day-to-day life. Take a closer look at our expert tips on how to boost your cell signal, starting with something simple you may have not even thought would have made a difference.
Use a cell signal booster

Mobile

Best cell phone plan deals: T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Mint Mobile and more

Woman

When it comes time to upgrade your phone, or sign someone in your family up for a new line, picking just one cell phone provider isn't simple. Every service provider has their own cell phone plan deals for new customers, and they can get confusing. If that's you, and you're searching for the best deal, there's a good chance you're going to save some serious money in the long run. You should always consider perks like smartphone deals and 5G phone deals that could get you a new phone for free. Because there are so many, we've collected all the best cell phone plan deals from the major and minor providers. These are general plans, so if you're searching for something more specific, like the best cell phone plan for home use or the best cell phone plan for small businesses, we encourage you to continue researching after you check out the deals below.
Mint Mobile: Get any 3-month plan for $15 per month
For a limited time, Mint Mobile has dropped the three-month price for all of its plans to just $15 per month. That means, the Unlimited plan, normally $30 per month, or $90 for three months, is no just $15 per month or $45 for three months. The base 5GB of data per month plan is $15 per month, and the 15GB per month plan is $15 per month, or $45 for three months. That is an incredible deal. All Mint Mobile plans include unlimited talk and text, access to 5GB high-speed data, free calling to Mexico and Canada, free mobile hotspot access, and WiFi calling support. You can't beat that!

U.S. Mobile: Pre-pay $23 per line per month
Prepaid wireless plans are a great option for light users, kids, and anyone else who won’t be consuming a lot of data on a daily basis. U.S. Mobile is one of the best prepaid service providers available today, allowing you to build your own custom plan, so you’re only paying for as many minutes, texts, and gigabytes of data as you want to. As just one example, its Unlimited Starter plan is just $23 per line, or $276 for 12 months -- saving you $72 per year. You get unlimited talk, text, and data, 10GB of hotspot data, international calling and texting, and more. If you're adding multiple lines to a plan, you can also unlock free extras like Disney+ and Netflix.