Abstract:

Light is necessary for life, but prolonged exposure to artificial light is a matter of increasing health concern. Humans are exposed to increased amounts of light in the blue spectrum produced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which can interfere with normal sleep cycles. The LED technologies are relatively new; therefore, the long-term effects of exposure to blue light across the lifespan are not understood. We investigated the effects of light in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, and determined that flies maintained in daily cycles of 12-h blue LED and 12-h darkness had significantly reduced longevity compared with flies maintained in constant darkness or in white light with blue wavelengths blocked. Exposure of adult flies to 12 h of blue light per day accelerated aging phenotypes causing damage to retinal cells, brain neurodegeneration, and impaired locomotion. We report that brain damage and locomotor impairments do not depend on the degeneration in the retina, as these phenotypes were evident under blue light in flies with genetically ablated eyes. Blue light induces expression of stress-responsive genes in old flies but not in young, suggesting that cumulative light exposure acts as a stressor during aging. We also determined that several known blue-light-sensitive proteins are not acting in pathways mediating detrimental light effects. Our study reveals the unexpected effects of blue light on fly brain and establishes Drosophila as a model in which to investigate long-term effects of blue light at the cellular and organismal level.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-019-0038-6

Daily exposure to blue light may accelerate aging, even if it doesn’t reach your eyes

by Oregon State University

Prolonged exposure to blue light, such as that which emanates from your phone, computer and household fixtures, could be affecting your longevity, even if it’s not shining in your eyes.

New research at Oregon State University suggests that the blue wavelengths produced by light-emitting diodes damage cells in the brain as well as retinas.

The study, published today in Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, involved a widely used organism, Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, an important model organism because of the cellular and developmental mechanisms it shares with other animals and humans.

Jaga Giebultowicz, a researcher in the OSU College of Science who studies biological clocks, led a research collaboration that examined how flies responded to daily 12-hour exposures to blue LED light—similar to the prevalent blue wavelength in devices like phones and tablets—and found that the light accelerated aging.

Read more at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-daily-exposure-blue-aging-doesnt.html

The post Daily blue-light exposure shortens lifespan and causes brain neurodegeneration in Drosophila appeared first on EMFSA.

Volume 781, July–September 2019, Pages 53-62

Dimitris J.Panagopoulos^abc

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mrrev.2019.03.003

Abstract

The number of studies showing adverse effects on living organisms induced by different types of man-made Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) has increased tremendously. Hundreds of peer reviewed published studies show a variety of effects, the most important being DNA damage which is linked to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, reproductive declines etc. Those studies that are far more effective in showing effects employ real-life Mobile Telephony (MT) exposures emitted by commercially available mobile phones. The present review – of results published by my group from 2006 until 2016 – compares DNA fragmentation induced by six different EMFs on the same biological system – the oogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster – under identical conditions and procedures. Such a direct comparison between different EMFs – especially those employed in daily life – on the same biological endpoint, is very useful for drawing conclusions on their bioactivity, and novel. It shows that real MT EMFs are far more damaging than 50 Hz alternating magnetic field (MF) – similar or much stronger to those of power lines – or a pulsed electric field (PEF) found before to increase fertility. The MT EMFs were significantly more bioactive even for much shorter exposure durations than the other EMFs. Moreover, they were more damaging than previously tested cytotoxic agents like certain chemicals, starvation, dehydration. Individual parameters of the real MT EMFs like intensity, frequency, exposure duration, polarization, pulsing, modulation, are discussed in terms of their role in bioactivity. The crucial parameter for the intense bioactivity seems to be the extreme variability of the polarized MT signals, mainly due to the large unpredictable intensity changes.

Note added by EMFSA:

Dr. George Carlo: “This new paper by Dr. Panagopoulos clearly describes and documents the mechanistic aspects that underscore why man-made, polarized waveforms can cause so many different types of adverse biological effects. This is key. While focused on genetic outcomes, the impact triggers described in the paper apply across the board to organelles, cells, tissues, organs and organ systems. This is a foundation that will be key to any and all risk assessments as well as derivations of any and all safety standards.“

Last paragraph of conclusion of paper: “The present study further confirms my previous results and conclusions that experiments should employ real-life and not simulated EMFs, and human/animal exposure to microwave telecommunication EMFs should be drastically reduced by prudent use, and establishment of much stringer exposure limits by the responsible health authorities.“

The post Review: Comparing DNA damage induced by mobile telephony and other types of man-made electromagnetic fields appeared first on EMFSA.