Red blood cells lump by mobile phone

Mar 22 2005

Two students of the Gymnasium high school in Spaichingen (Germany) have investigated the influence of using a mobile phone on the red blood cells. With a microscope they made 255 pictures of the blood of 51 testees. The students, Maria Ritter and Wasgan Wolski, received a regional award for young researchers, reports the Schwäbische Zeitung of March 7, 2005.

The testees were not allowed to use their mobile phones for 24 hours. Afterwards the researchers took blood from a finger tip and earlobe. Then the testees had to use a phone for 20 seconds. Immediately after that the researchers took blood again and ten minutes later again. The result: after using the mobile phone it was clearly visible that the red blood cells lumped together in 'rolls of coins'.

Also ten minutes afterwards the 'rolls of coins' still were clearly visible. The lumping raises the risk of thrombosis. Moreover the cells take up and transport less oxygen, report Ritter and Wolski. The research was directed by their teacher Dr. Markus Ziegler.