Health and Science Editor
MOBILE phones DO increase the risk of brain cancer, scientists claimed yesterday.
The chances of developing a malignant tumour are "significantly increased" for people who use a mobile for ten years.
The shock finding is the result of the biggest ever study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organisation.
Scientists found a type of brain tumour called glioma is more likely in long-term mobile users.
French experts analysed data from 13 countries, including Britain.
They cross-referenced various types of tumours with mobile use.
Researchers admit the cause is unknown, but it is thought radiation from handsets could be the trigger.
Study chief Professor Elisabeth Cardis said: "To underestimate the risk would be a complete disaster."
Last night a British expert insisted mobiles are not dangerous.
Professor Patricia McKinney of the University of Leeds said: "Reasonable use is unlikely to increase the risk of tumours."
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"Even the average human brain is remarkable," Helen Phillips writes in the New Scientist. "In adults, it has perhaps 100 billion neurons, each connected to its neighbours by 5,000 synapses or so. A brain can make and break a million new connections each second. It can store information for more than a century if you live that long, automatically cataloguing, refiling and editing as needed. It can reconstruct our surroundings using a range of sensors that sample vibration, electromagnetic radiation, chemicals and pressure, and prioritize in milliseconds what might be of interest or concern. It co-ordinates at least 640 muscles and looks after the essentials of energy generation, reproduction and survival with little thought, freeing our minds to socialize, ponder the meaning of our existence and learn from our experiences and those of people whom we may never have met."
