The science bit

Mobile phones transmit low frequency (long wavelength) radiation. The energy carried by mobile phone signals is very weak – much too weak to damage cells in the way that X-rays or Gamma rays do. Your skull will absorb much of the energy, but some of it will pass through to your brain.

Would a ‘hands-free’ kit reduce the radiation passing through to your brain?

Brains, like food, are warmed when they absorb microwaves. However, this heating effect is tiny – about a thousand times smaller than a microwave oven.

Is this enough to matter?

Your brain will warm up more from doing exercise, or even sunbathing. The problem is that most of us have only been using mobile phones for a few years. It is possible that the radiation may have other effects that we just don’t know about yet.

Why do we need to study the health risks over such a long time?

The facts