New Health Warning Over Mobile Phones
Hull Daily Mail
May 7, 1998

Mobile phones may be responsible for short-term memory loss and sudden confusion, it has been claimed. British military scientists have discovered that signals from mobile phones can disrupt parts of the brain that control memory and learning, the Daily Mail reported.

The new research comes after previous warnings about the health risks associated with mobile phones, which are used by nine million people in Britain. Earlier studies have claimed the phones can cause brain tumours, cancer, headaches, fatigue, and a rise in blood pressure.

The new tests were carried out at the Defence Establishment Research Agency and funded by the Defence Ministry and Department of Health, which has previously insisted mobile phones pose no major health hazard. Scientists said their findings were based on experiments using rats.

Project director Dr Rick Hold told the Daily Mail: 'This is the first real evidence that these sort of radio waves do have an effect on the brain. 'We cannot say whether, at this stage, this is dangerous or not, but clearly we need to find out pretty quickly.'

Mobile phone manufacturers said they wanted to examine the latest findings for themselves before making any comment. But they insisted that extensive research across the world had shown mobile technology was safe to use.