The electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones affect theorientation and memorization abilityof ants, according to a study published in the journalElectromagnetic Biology and Medicine. Although the results do not have to be applicable to human beings, the authors of the work think that precautions on antenna emissions should be increased.
The researchers, from the Free University of Brussels, subjected the ants to waves with a frequency of 900 megahertz and a power of two watts, quantities lower than those of the antennas of an ordinary telephone. Afterwards, they attracted them using pheromones to a place where they found food and they verified if they were later able to return to the anthill carrying the food on their back, something that these animals normally do without difficulty.
However, the results revealed that the ants exposed to the wavesthey were disoriented and unable to find their way back. Specifically, the scientists calculated that the animals lost up to 50 percent of their orientation and memorization abilities, although the effects were not irreversible: after 30 hours the ants managed to regain part of their capacity.
Given the proliferation of telephone antennas and wave-emitting devices that are already essential in our lives, many scientists warn of the possible negative effects on someneurological mechanisms. Although various investigations are being carried out in this regard, it is difficult to prove these consequences, which could also occur in the long term, in humans, and the results obtained in animals do not have to be applicable to what happens in our body.
