[LINK] Our wireless world...

[Stewart Fist]

Kim wrote:

> I like these but since the phones use them as aerials and I seem to recall
> some tests that found having your handfree headset plugged in led to much
> higher radiation levels on some phones.

The UK Consumer's Association had some tests done by an (I think, Irish)
testing laboratory, which didn't have a clue.

Their results suggested the RF was being channeled to the head along the
cables, and it caused every radiation lab around the world to jump out of
their sonambulence and test themselves.  No one ever went near to
reproducing the UK figures, although some of the results were surprisingly
high.

> What an extraordinary idea.  I think it is a coiled coiled coil or something
> like it (not sure how many iterations) and it uncoils in certain circumstances
> like for instance when it is being read.  This happens not only in mitosis but
> in RNA production and probably other times. ---
> I wonder what effect that has on it's electrical properties.

At the base, of course, it is a double helix, but then it gets bundled into
those 23 "X" shaped chromasomes.  Overall, the total DNA length inside a
single microscopic cell is nearly a metre in length (from memory - which
doesn't function too well these days)

The double helix straightens and 'unzips' during the reproductive (mitosis)
phase. So the length on each side of the zip, and the lengths of the
protein-chain gene's being constructed by the RNA along-side, would be
highly variable and constantly changing during any non-quiesant phase.  In
some cells this period of mitosis occurs for about 20 minutes in every hour.

In the comet-assay test for DNA breaks, they unravel the DNA by using a
lysing solution, and then embed the DNA in a gel (on a microscope slide).
They then put a 12 DC voltage gradient across the slide.

Since DNA is semi-conducting, each broken piece ends up with a positive and
negative end (proportional to its length), and the broken pieces then
migrate at different rates through the gel leaving the cell with the
appearance of a comet-tail.  They can then show how much damage has been
done to the cell, and get some indication as to the size of the breaks.

It's quite spectacular

Most single-strand breaks will be repaired, normally. And most double-strand
breaks result in the death of the cell. So while breaks are common, they
aren't as disastrous as they sound.

But you wouldn't want to increase the likelihood of problem with your little
swimmers if you were starting a family.



-- 
Stewart Fist, writer, journalist, film-maker
70 Middle Harbour Road, LINDFIELD, 2070, NSW, Australia
Ph +61 (2) 9416 7458