One of the primary goals of the ETAIN project is to assess how much 5G radiation power is absorbed by insects when exposed to specific levels of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs). The research aims to understand how this absorbed power varies across different insect species and their developmental stages.
A key focus of the project is on the potential impact of RF-EMFs on biodiversity, particularly insect pollinators. To investigate this, a longitudinal experiment is being conducted where insect trapping is carried out over time in regions consistently exposed to RF-EMFs.
Several experiments are underway in Greece, in collaboration with Ellinikos Georgikos Organismos Dimitra, to examine how 5G radiation affects bees. The experiment consists of two rooms: a control room and an exposed room. Each room contains a Styrofoam box housing beehives. The exposed room has 5G radiation levels higher than what is typically found outdoors but similar to the exposure experienced during phone usage. The control room, isolated by electromagnetic field (EMF) absorbing material, is exposed to normal environmental levels.
To maintain accuracy, the experiment is conducted in areas free from external RF-EMF interference. The bees are allowed to leave the boxes to forage, while their hive activity, influenced by seasonal shifts, is continuously monitored.
In addition to the bee study, parallel research in Montpellier focuses on fruit flies, another critical species for biodiversity research. Stay tuned for further updates as these studies progress and reveal more about the effects of 5G radiation on insect life.
Does EMF exposure pose a risk to human health? NextGEM’s main goal is to answer this question, and it investigates it through many lines of research. The objective is to assess the effects of RF exposure across various frequency bands using both in vitro and in vivo biological models. In this context, three NextGEM partners showcased how they conduct their research.
Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC, from Spain) use the nematode C.elegans to assess possible biological effects of EMF. C.elegans serve as an initial screening tool for evaluating possible EMF effects, helping to shed light on potential human-scale impacts. The following video shows the similarities between these worms’ biology and the human body’s:
The Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment at the National Research Council of Italy (IREA-CNR) has a Bioelectromagnetics Laboratory, which is fully equipped to conduct experiments in diverse frequency ranges. There, human cell cultures and C.elegans are used to investigate the effects of RF exposure across different frequency ranges on cancer-related outcomes:
Belgian NextGEM partners Sciensano, on their side, showed us the premises of the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Service (ISSeP), where they have assembled an EMF exposure system for human testing. They will conduct short, acute exposure sessions (45 minutes) at 5G frequencies (26.5 GHz) on healthy volunteers. This study aims to explore whether the controlled exposure could influence various parameters in red blood cells:
Conferences are not only an excellent opportunity to present one’s own research and get feedback on it, but they are also ideal for exchanging ideas beyond one’s own research interests! At SRA-E, the 32nd Annual Conference “Risk in Time and Space”, of the Society for Risk Analysis Europe researchers from all over the world and from a wide range of disciplines came together to do just that. The common intersection is the research of risks. The 32nd Annual Conference took place in Athens from 2 to 5 June 2024. The researchers of SEAWave were there. The team from IU gave two oral presentations concerning the findings of their work so far.
Sarah Link and Marie Eggeling presented their research on the perception of 5G at the annual meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis – Europe. Sarah Link presented her results of a study investigating laypeople’s situational exposure perception and location preferences for 5G base stations. Marie Eggeling on the other hand presented her study results, dealing with the relationship between personal relevance of 5G and precautionary communication on EMF.
Go to SEAWave’s website!
Marie Eggeling’s presentationSarah Link’s presentation
Why do some people readily accept 5G and use it without a second thought, while others worry about the potential effects that 5G may have on their physical and psychological health? How do these groups differ from each other, and how can we better respond to their concerns, particularly with tailored risk communication?
Task 6.2 of Project GOLIAT focuses on constructing the mental models of EMF experts and EMF non-experts regarding 5G technology and its effects on health. Our core team consists of Matt White and Nina Vaupotic at the University of Vienna and James Grellier and Leanne Martin at the University of Exeter, with many collaborators around the globe actively contributing to our mental models study.
The core team during our in-person team meeting in Perranporth, UK in May 2023.
Our main objective is to create mental models, or representations, of people’s knowledge, beliefs, and opinions about 5G technology and its effects on health among different groups of people: EMF experts, EMF non-experts, and EMF non-experts who self-identify as electrosensitive. We aim to identify (1) the misconceptions of EMF non-experts and (2) aspects of EMF non-experts’ beliefs and concerns that EMF experts may not be aware of.
How do we elicit mental models?
We carried out semi-structured interviews where we encouraged interviewees (EMF experts and EMF non-experts) to share their knowledge, opinions, and thoughts. We first asked the interviewees to do a ranking task on the topic of electromagnetic frequencies, which prepared them for the topic of the interview. We then asked them about different potential benefits and drawbacks of 5G, as well as about their own behaviour in relation to 5G.
Interviewees ranked different objects according to how much EMF they thought they were emitting. The photo above was taken during a mock interview between Nina (the interviewer) and Oscar (the interviewee).
In total, we conducted 10 interviews with EMF experts, 23 interviews with EMF non-experts and 3 interviews with EHS individuals. We are grateful to our partners in Spain, Japan and Poland who helped us with conducting interviews in their countries.
Noriko Kojimahara visited Matt and Nina in Vienna, Austria, in March 2024.
How did we analyse the qualitative data?
The interviews were audio-recorded (with the approval of the interviewees) and later transcribed into text. We used MAXQDA 2024 (VERBI Software, 2021) to analyse the transcriptions. In the first step, we familiarized ourselves with the interview data and began to recognize recurring themes such as health effects, economic benefits, and general worries. We investigated whether these themes repeatedly appeared in the interviews. This process led to the development of a coding scheme, which we continuously adapted and tested with new data to ensure its accuracy and relevance. For instance, we had to make sure that the topics one coder recognizes in the interview texts would also be recognized by other independent coders.
Each face-to-face team meeting was used for fruitful discussions that moved the project forward.
How do we construct mental models?
With the assistance of the MAXQDA software, we analysed which topics were frequently mentioned together and by which groups of interviewees. Drawing on connections between topics and literature reviews, we crafted a mental model representing the knowledge, beliefs, and opinions of both EMF experts and non-experts.
Qualitative data analyses were conducted to support the development of mental models.
Why is it this important?
Comparing the mental models of EMF experts and EMF non-experts enabled us to identify misconceptions regarding 5G and health, which were then integrated into a public survey to estimate their prevalence. Additionally, identifying the factors contributing to public acceptance of 5G can provide valuable insights into understanding why some of EMF non-experts are concerned. Ultimately, we hope to contribute to targeted risk communication, better tailored to respond to EMF non-experts’ beliefs and concerns about 5G.
We are working on our manuscript and look forward to sharing the results with you soon!
BioEM Society recently published a call to support Short Term Mission of Students or Early Stage Researchers (STM) coming from Low-Middle income countries. STM intends to support individual mobility of students or early stage researchers (ESR) among the different research groups worldwide in the low-middle income countries. ESRs should have completed their PhD no more than five years ago.
The recipients of the grant will learn new techniques and specific procedures, gain access to specific data, instruments and/or methodologies not available in their own laboratories. The duration of the STM should be at least 14 days, preferable 1 month. Longer periods are also allowed if the STM grant will be combined with other funding sources. The recipients of the grant will receive € 3.500
Applications are welcomed from 10 September 2024 to 01 November 2024. Results will be notified on 16 December 2024.
Check BioEM’s website to find more information about the application and the selection procedures.
