Biological Effects Research
The EM research group is teamed with researchers James Trosko and C.C.Chang from the Department of Pediatrics & Human Development on a grant sponsored by the Electric Power Institute (EPRI) to conduct in vitro experiments and develop theories related to electromagnetic field (emf) exposure. A measurement facility has been constructed in the Electromagnetics Research Lab which allows the exposure of cell cultures to low-frequency (typically 60 Hz) magnetic fields under controlled biological conditions. This is one of very few such facilities in the world, and it has been used extensively over the past four years to study the effects of emf exposure on the proliferation and differentiation of liver, blood, breast, and brain cells.
Results have shown that exposure to 60 Hz fields at .1-10G over a three day period significantly decrease the ability of mouse leukemia cells to differentiate into red blood cells. The same exposure levels increase the fraction of these cells that proliferate. Such finding may have important implications in setting exposure limits for power line workers and others exposed to high levels of 60 Hz magnetic fields.
