Effects of electromagnetic radiation on biological systems: a short review of case studies

The use of electromagnetic radiations (EM) has been increased many fold in the recent times mainly due to the advances in information technology (wireless and satellite communication). The enhanced presence of these EM radiations in space is causing concerns of EM interference not only of several equipments but also of biological activity. There is a serious concern on the effect of the EM radiation on biological systems in general and on human systems in particular, specifically when the exposure levels are rather high. There are guidelines, arrived after experimentation, for the minimum exposure levels of these EM radiations for safe working. The problem is two fold: first, to measure and standardize the radiation levels and second, to evaluate the effects on biological systems. The latter part is more difficult. There are several case studies conducted on the effect of non-ionizing radiations on biological systems over a wide range of frequencies emitted either from antennas, video displays or even from transmission lines. It is also recorded that the radiations from plasma seems to have desirable effects on curing cancer. Present paper summarizes three case studies conducted recently. Though conclusive evidence is yet to be arrived, it is observed that in most of the cases, the non-ionizing electro magnetic radiation seems to affect the biological activity; the experiments have shown that in the case of osteoporosis the EM radiations are observed to have a curing effect.