NUMBER 203 www.bioelectromagnetics.org JULY/AUGUST 2008

IN THIS ISSUE...President’s Column ..................................................... 1Setting Meaningful Limits .......................................1-22009 Joint Meeting in Davos ...................................... 2Student Awards Presented at BEMS Meeting .......3-6Conclusion of Danish Mobile Phone Porgram ......7-8BEMS Meeting Helps Establish Research Group .... 8Extension of the PIERS Deadline .............................. 9SPRBM Call for Papers .............................................. 9Student Seeks Postdoc Position.................................. 9CALENDAR ...........................................................9-10

NEwSLETTER • A Publication of The Bioelectromagnetics Society

BIOELECTRoMAGNETICS

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN: PLEDGE foR HoNEST, oPEN, fAIR BUT ToUGH SCIENTIfIC DISCoURSE

August 2008, Niels Kuster

The two most alarming complaints communicated to me by numerous researchers during discussions about the annual meeting in San Diego were that 1) the polarization between the “believer” and “non-believer” camps has become increasingly more evident in our Society and 2) well informed scientific discourse has become rare.

With little to be learned or achieved in such a stifling and divisive environment, many are rethinking whether it is worth attending our meetings in the future.

It is vital for any scientific society to maintain a scien-tific discourse that is tough on the facts but always hon-est, open, constructive and fair. Our podium should not nurture those who are not curious enough to think “out of the box.” We should welcome and expect criticism, skep-ticism and debate through open discourse and account-ability, especially because of the multidisciplinary nature of the field of bioelectromagnetics, in which everyone is a layman to a certain extent. It is indefensible, however, that innuendo, inherently political issues, personal insults and ignorance are accepted and condoned as fact because it undermines the objectives of our society and the scien-tists who work diligently, honestly and enthusiastically to advance science to improve the quality of human life.

For our joint meeting with EBEA in Davos, I am com-mitted to providing a stimulating and fair environment for open dialogue, but I need your pledge as well to ini-tiate candid and constructive debate and action, and to discourage ill-informed criticism, personal innuendo or politically influenced views of the experimental methods or results. Science always progresses faster through con-structive dialogue between opposing views when knowl-edge is shared.

SETTING MEANINGfUL LIMITS

At the recent Bioelectromagnetics Society Annual Meet-ing an observation was made that great emphasis is placed on statistical testing of research results to determine if a measure in an exposed group of subjects is statistically different from the results in a similar control population. The test is usually made to determine whether there are significant differences in the results in the exposed popu-lation compared to the results found in the control popula-tion, that is, the null hypothesis.

Under the null hypothesis, there is no difference in results between an exposed population compared to a control population. This is considered true until evidence indi-cates that the null hypothesis is unlikely. The objective then is to establish the possibility that a Type I error oc-curs, that is, a false positive finding. This is equivalent to saying the false positive rate is equal to the significance level. In simple comparisons, significance levels between 0.01 and 0.05 are established demarcations for statistical significance, that is, the rejection of the null hypothesis when it is true.

There is another aspect of the comparison between ex-posed and control samples that is often overlooked. This second, complementary aspect of statistical testing is the concern about accepting the null hypothesis when in fact

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2 The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008

BEMS/EBEA 2009 JoINT MEETING WILL BE HELD IN DAVoS, SWITZERLAND

By Sonja Negovetic and Niels Kuster

It seems redundant to introduce Davos, the remote Swiss mountain resort whose name itself has become a synonym of the WEF – the World Economic Forum, where 2500 business elite and global leaders gather together each year to address the challenges of this world. The more literate among us may even associate it with “The Magic Moun-tain,” Thomas Mann’s world-renowned narrative about a young, tubercular German seeking a cure in the rar-efied mountain air high up in the Swiss Alps. Yet general knowledge mostly stops there, and with the BEMS/EBEA joint meeting 2009 traveling to Davos, we want to cast a short, but closer look:

there is a difference between the two groups. This error is called a Type II error. The probability of a Type II error is called beta. The power (the probability of rejecting the false hypothesis) is 1-beta. If beta is large, then we are not confident that the null hypothesis is true even though we were unable to reject the null hypothesis.

Questions were raised at the meeting regarding the power of tests when the null hypothesis was not rejected. The expectation that the power of tests needs to be presented along with null results is growing, and it appears to be a reasonable expectation. This emerging issue is based on a concern that some results may delay interventions, both for application to hazard risk assessment and to therapeu-tic efficacy, that would otherwise lead more rapidly to beneficial health outcomes.

Davos is 5100 feet or 1560 m above sea level and locat-ed in the heart of the Alps in an idyllic, alpine valley in the southeastern, German speaking part of Switzerland, the canton of Grisons. Zurich is the closest airport and a 2½ hour train trip away. While being Europe’s highest town, Davos is surrounded by an unspoiled landscape that abounds with natural splendor. With its microclimate and fresh air, it was indeed a popular destination for the rich and ailing lung disease patients, and has since turned into a Mecca for winter sports. Many international champion-ships in speed skating were held in Davos, whose fame peaked as a high-profile ski resort in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, Davos has established itself as a leading tourist resort, a sports center and paradise for skiers and snow-boarders, but also as the location of the largest and most modern congress center in the Alps with an infrastructure that covers everything.

The quieter summer months invite its guests to 700 km of slopes for hiking, climbing and mountaineering, to golf-ing, riding, paragliding and mountain biking, as well as surfing and sailing on Davos lake. Those less inclined to recreational activity will find relaxation in the still pure and fresh air, the breathtaking mountain scenery, a botan-ic garden, a few museums and galleries, ample shopping opportunities, a wellness spa, and a cinema.

Although Davos has a reputation for being very expen-sive and exclusive (and it is in winter), that is not the case in summer, so that guests will find a convenient range of good and reasonably priced restaurants and lodging op-portunities. To the interested scientist, Davos also harbors some internationally renowned institutions, such as the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research or the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research.

The congress center with its up-to-date infrastructure that was built for the WEF will be available for BEMS/EBEA joint meeting in June 2009, and the hotel rooms that are usually occupied by the Clinton’s, Mandela’s, Stone’s, and Gate’s, etc., will be offered at very favorable prices to our members. The 2009 meeting will follow the tradition of outstanding scientific meetings held at other locations around the world. Local organizers, and BEMS president Niels Kuster, are eager to welcome you to Davos.

MEANINGfUL LIMITS, continued from page 1

The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008 �

STUDENT AWARDS PRESENTED AT THE THIRTIETH ANNUAL MEETING of BEMS IN SAN DIEGo, CALIfoRNIA

Students presented a total of �� posters and 1� platform presentations at the �0th Annual Meeting of The Bio-electromagnetics Society meeting in San Diego, CA. Jeff Carson, chair of the student awards committee, an-nounced these winners of the best student presentations competition:

BEST PLATfoRM PRESENTATIoNS

Herman Schwan Memorial Award for Best Platform Presentation:

David McNamee

Platform 8-8: THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF WHOLE BODY EXPOSURE TO A 1800 MICRO-TESLA , POWER-LINE FREQUENCY MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE HUMAN CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, David A. McNamee with Alexandre G. Legros, Frank S. Prato,

and Alex W. Thomas

David presented work focused on the effects of power line frequency magnetic fields on the human microcircu-latory system and provided a “big picture” perspective of how the human cardiovascular system responds to power line fields in general. The goal of this work is to address previous inconsistencies in the literature through a con-trolled look at changes in peripheral microcirculation, blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability and skin surface temperature during and/or after an acute, 60 Hz MF exposure session at 1800 µT.

Curtis Carl Johnson Memorial Award for Best Plat-form Presentation:

John Robertson

Platform 8-1 FUNCTIONAL IMAGING OF MAGNETIC FIELD THERAPY, John A. Robertson with Jean Theberge, Julie Weller, Dick Drost, Frank S. Prato, and Alex W. Thomas

John presented research examining the effects of a spe-cific pulsed magnetic field on pain perception in humans. This specific pulsed magnetic field -- known as the Com-plex Neuroelectromagnetic Pulse, or CNP -- has a long history of use at the lab at Western Ontario University to affect pain perception in snails, mice, and humans. This pulsed magnetic field therapy is in the process of being evaluated as a treatment for chronic pain in an FDA clinical trial being managed by Fralex Therapeutics (TSE:FXI), a spin-off company founded by John’s supervisors Dr. Frank Prato and Dr. Alex Thomas.

To get a better understanding of how the CNP affects human pain perception, John uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the brain activity involved in pain processing. The pain is created acutely with a thermode, and cycles on and off while the MRI ac-quires data. Then the CNP is applied for 15 minutes, and the fMRI and pain procedure is repeated. Using software tools (e.g., BrainVoyager), John examines how the brain activity processing the heat pain is altered by the mag-netic field exposure.

John found significant decreases in activity in brain struc-tures such as the anterior cingulate and insula after CNP exposure as compared to sham exposure. These are brain areas that are responsible for the affective component of pain -- activity here is what makes pain unpleasant. How-ever, there was no significant effect of the CNP on the pain scores reported by the subjects. John reports that this could be because the exposure used here was only 15 minutes, applied just once, whereas subjects in previ-ous studies had been exposed for 40 minutes, and in some studies multiple times per day over the course of a num-ber of days. His next step will be to increase the exposure duration within the MRI to 40 minutes to match up with the exposures previously used.

The fact that significant changes in activity within pain related structures was seen even without a change in the subjective pain scores indicates, according to John, that

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4 The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008

fMRI might be a more sensitive tool to detect the neu-romodulation of the CNP than the subjective pain scores are.

Second Place - Best Platform Presentation: Sven Kuehn

Platform 7-6 EXPERIMENTAL EVAL-UATION OF THE SAR INDUCED IN A HEAD PHANTOM OF A THREE YEAR OLD CHILD, Sven Kuehn with Ma-rie-Christine Gosselin, Andreas Christ, Marcel Zefferer, Emilio Cherubini, and Niels Kuster

Sven presented work aimed at resolving the ongoing con-troversy over whether the current compliance test proce-dure based on a large adult head (SAM) is also appropri-ate for children. His studies indicated that using a scaled version of the SAM phantom results in conservative es-timates of the peak spatial SAR exposure in the heads of children.

Third Place - Best Platform Presentation: Stephen Kennedy

Platform 4-6 REAL-TIME QUANTI-FICATION OF ELECTROPORATIVE UPTAKE KINETICS AND ELECTRIC FIELD HETEROGENEITY EFFECTS IN CELLS, Stephen M. Kennedy with Zhen Ji, Jonathan Hedstrom, John H. Booske, and Susan C. Hagness.

Stephen described work on real-time quantification of electroporative uptake kinetics and electric field heteroge-neity effects in cells. With coauthors Z Ji, JC Hedstrom, JH Booske, and SC Hagness, he measured the delivery of a small molecule, propidium iodide (PI), to human leukemia cells over time resulting from exposure to a single 40 microsecond pulsed electric field (PEF). Ex-perimental data revealed PI uptake signatures consistent with temporary field-induced membrane poration using PEF intensities between 1.6 kV/cm and 2.0 kV/cm. This range in electric field intensities resulted in the delivery of approximately 88 million PI molecules per cell over the course of 500 seconds. Using field intensities between 2 and 4 kV/cm, PI uptake signatures were consistent with irrecoverable membrane damage.

In these experiments, it was also shown that electric field non-uniformity could be used to spatially regulate the

delivery of molecules to cells. The data obtained from these experiments will be useful determining what field strengths and electrode configurations are appropriate for gene and drug delivery applications versus tissue destruc-tion. Additionally, the data obtained here will be useful in developing and improving membrane electroporation theories and models.

Steve is an NIH Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

AWARD WINNING PoSTERS

Herman Schwan Memorial Award for Best Poster: Camilla Rozanski

Poster P-77 REAL-TIME MEASURE-MENT OF CYTOSOLIC FREE CAL-CIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN DEM-TREATED HL-60 CELLS DURING STATIC MAGNETIC FIELD EXPO-SURE AND ACTIVATION BY ATP, Camilla Rozanski with Michelle Belton,

Frank S. Prato, and Jeffrey J. Carson

Camilla examined whether free radicals influence cyto-solic free calcium concentrations during static magnetic field exposure. Cytosolic free calcium concentration was montitored using ratiometric fluorescence spectroscopy in HL-60 cells under conditions of reduced endogenous free radical scavengers and 100 mT static magnetic field expo-sure. While the initial results suggested no effect of a 100 mT static magnetic field on cytosolic free calcium concen-tration in HL-60 cells, she noted that these results need to be explored further because (1) an effect of SMF might have been present but not measurable with the [Ca2+]c -dependent metrics measured in the study, or (2) potential effects of SMF on HL-60 cells may not be influenced by the presence or absence of diethyl-maleate (DEM) used in the reported work. Additional work proposed by Rozanski included repetitions over a greater range of magnetic field strengths above and below 100 mT and repetition of the experiments at a variety of doses of DEM and with GSH potentiators such as L-NAC and glutathione diesters to allow for a greater range of GSH levels to be tested. This last possibility is driven by the hypothesis that a threshold free radical concentration exists where the action of static magnetic fields becomes apparent.

See Student Awards, continued on page 5

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The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008 5

Curtis Carl Johnson Memorial Award - Best Poster: Genevieve Albert

Poster P-65 CYTOGENETIC ANALY-SIS OF HUMAN LYMPHOCYTES AFTER A 4 HOUR, WHOLE BODY EXPOSURE TO A SINUSOIDAL 200 µT 60 HZ MAGNETIC FIELD, Gene-vieve C. Albert with James P. McNamee, Frank S. Prato, Vijayalaxmi, and Alex W. Thomas

Genevieve began work on a Master’s degree in Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario under the co-supervision of Drs. Alex Thomas and Frank Prato in September 2006. She was awarded the best student poster at the 29th Annual Bioelectromagnetics Society Meeting in June 2007 in Kanazawa, Japan. She recently completed this work and has begun working on a Mas-ter’s degree in Public Health. Her Medical Biophysics thesis research project was titled “Assessment of genetic damage in peripheral blood of human volunteers exposed (whole-body) to a 200 mT, 60 Hz magnetic field” from which this award winning poster was derived.

The aim of this project (performed by Genevieve C. Albert with James P. McNamee, Leonora Marro, Vijay-alaxmi, Pascale V. Bellier, Frank S. Prato, and Alex W. Thomas) was to investigate the extent of damage in nucle-ated cells in peripheral blood of healthy human volun-teers exposed to a whole-body 60 Hz, 200 µT magnetic field. In this study, 10 male and 10 female healthy human volunteers received a 4 h whole-body exposure to a 200 µT, 60 Hz magnetic field. In addition, 5 males and 5 fe-males were treated in a similar fashion, but were exposed to sham conditions. For each subject, a blood sample was obtained prior to the exposure period and aliquots were used as negative- (pre-exposure) and positive- (1.5 Gy 60Co y-irradiation) controls. At the end of the 4 h expo-sure period, a second blood sample was obtained. The extent of DNA damage was assessed in peripheral hu-man blood leukocytes from all samples using the alkaline comet assay. To detect possible clastogenic effects, the in-cidence of micronuclei was assessed in phytohemagglu-tinin (PHA)-stimulated lymphocytes using the cytokine-sis-block micronucleus assay. There was no evidence of either increased DNA damage, as indicated by the alkaline comet assay, or increased incidence of micronuclei (MN) in the magnetic field exposed group. There was no signifi-cant difference between pre- and post-exposure samples (p>0.05). Moreover, magnetic field-exposed volunteers were not significantly different from sham-exposed sub-

jects (p>0.05). However, an in vitro exposure of 1.5 Gy y-irradiation caused a significant increase in both DNA damage and MN induction (p<0.001). This study found no evidence that an acute, whole-body exposure to a 200 µT, 60 Hz magnetic field for 4 hours could cause DNA damage in human blood. (Manuscript submitted to the In-ternational Journal of Radiation Biology, August 2008)

Second Place - Best Poster:Stephen Kennedy

Poster P-51 DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MI-CROCUVETTE: AN EXPOSURE DEVICE FOR REAL-TIME OBSER-VATION OF ELECTROPORATIVE MOLECULAR UPTAKE, Stephen M. Kennedy with Zhen Ji, John H. Booske,

and Susan C. Hagness.

Stephen Kennedy was awarded 2nd place in the student poster competition for his presentation of work describing the development of a device designed to allow the simul-taneous observation of cells under fluorescence microsco-py during electric field exposure (Development and char-acterization of the microcuvette: an exposure device for real-time observation of electroporative molecular uptake by SM Kennedy, Z Ji, JH Booske, and SC Hagness). The device’s inherent electric field non-uniformity was char-acterized using finite element electrostatic simulations. It was also demonstrated that the characterization of electric field non-uniformity could be used to predict the response of cells based on their location within the device.

As noted above, Stephen M. Kennedy is an NIH Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Third Place - Best Poster (tie):Julia McKay and Darragh Crotty

Poster P-6 EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY MAGNETIC FIELDS: EFFECTS ON BLOOD FLOW AND BLOOD PRESSURE, Julia C. McKay with Karel Tyml, Frank S. Prato, and Alex W. Thomas

Julia McKay’s work examined the effects of CNP, or com-plex neuroelectromagnetic pulse on blood flow. Previous experiments at Western Ontario University showed that a specific pulsed magnetic field of extremely low frequency

See Student Awards, continued on page 6

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6 The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008

(CNP) is effective in providing pain relief in a variety of species. More specifically, previous experiments in Julia McKay’s lab showed that the particular form of CNP can induce pronounced effects on the opioid system, as well as other reports in the literature of magnetic field effects on microcirculation. This lead her to investigate whether the CNP might also induce changes, even if only subtle, in blood flow and/or blood pressure. In the work she reported at the meeting, potential effects of the CNP on blood flow and blood pressure were investigated using laser Doppler flowmetry and arterial insertion of a pressure catheter in a rat model. Several CNP intensities were tested, as was a 60 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field of varying strengths. No main effect of the 200 µT CNP exposure on blood flow was observed and preliminary analysis of blood pressure and other data indicates a similar finding.

Poster P-85 EFFECT OF 50HZ, 2MT AC ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD ON PROLIFERATION, MORPHOL-OGY AND CBFA1 PROTEIN EX-PRESSION IN PRE-OSTEOBLASTS, Darragh Crotty with Gabriel Martinez, Michael Coey, & Adriele Prina-Mello

Darragh Crotty investigated the effect of an AC EMF on proliferation, morphology and expression of the dif-ferentiation marker protein, CBFa1, in mouse pre-osteo-blasts. Exposed cells were compared to sham-exposed and control cells. No significant differences (ANOVA-1; significant if p < 0.05) were seen for proliferation, CBFa1 protein expression, cell size, nuclear size and number or length of processes extending from the cells. Although average anti-CBFa1 fluorescence intensity was observed to be greater in exposed and sham cells compared with controls, these increases showed high variability in their measured intensities so they were judged not significant. Also, the increase was approximately equal for sham and exposed indicating that the effect was not due to the mag-netic field. His results suggest that 2mT, 50 Hz AC fields do not affect pre-osteoblast proliferation, differentiation or morphology significantly.

NoTE To CoNTRIBUToRS

The Bioelectromagnetics Society newsletter is published and distributed to all members of the Society. Institutions and libraries may subscribe to the newsletter at an annual cost of $85USD.

The newsletter serves as a forum for ideas and discussion of issues related to bioelectromagnetics research. Contributions may include news items, meeting reports, short notes on reseach, book reviews, and relevant items of historical or other interest. All submissions must be signed. While it is understood that contributions by individual authors reflect the views of the contributor, the editors may require that contributing writers submit a statement of affiliation and/or disclosure of possible conflict of interest at the time an article is submitted for consideration. Advertisements included in the newsletter are not to be considered endorsed by the Society.

To submit items for the newsletter, please send electronic files to bemsnewsletter@gmail.com or

bemsoffice@aol.com or (by surface mail) to:

The Bioelectromagnetics Society2412 Cobblestone Way

Frederick, MD 21702-2626 USA

BEMS Newsletter Editor, Janie Page, is an independent consultant in Oakland, CA. Tel. (510) 917-2074.

For other Society business or information, contact: Gloria Parsley, Executive Director, Tel. (301) 663-4252; FAX: (301) 694-4948, or see the BEMS Web site: www.bioelectromagnetics.org

For the past several years, students at the Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada, (pictured below) received Memorial Awards for outstanding re-search by students, which provided $500 travel support to the next year’s meeting.

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The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008 7

CoNCLUSIoN of DANISH MoBILE PHoNE PRoGRAM

Kjell Hansson MildUmeå University, Dept of Radiation PhysicsMember of the Danish program Committee for Non-Ionizing Radiationkjell.hansson.mild@radfys.umu.se

For the last four years the Danish government sponsored a 4 Million Euro research program devoted to mobile te-lephony and its possible health risk. The program was run through the Strategic Research Council of Denmark, and the program committee consisted of Professor Philippe Grandjean of Odense University, chairman; Professor Jörn Olsen of UCLA (Californai, USA), Professor Olof Breinberg of Copenhagen, and Kjell Hansson Mild of Umeå University (Sweden). On May 27, 2008, an inter-national workshop held in Copenhagen showcased the re-sults of the research.

Before the individual project reports, four invited speak-ers gave an international perspective on the state-of-the-art of mobile phone research.

Professor Mats-Olof Mattson of Örebro Univeristy dis-cussed biological effects in experimental systems, Assis-tant Professor Monica Sandström reviewed the evidence from controlled exposures of human volunteers, and Professor Elisabeth Cardis reviewed the ongoing epide-miological studies on mobile phone use and risk for brain tumours, with special emphasis on the Interphone study results so far. Professor Niels Kuester, IT IS, Zurich, gave an overview of the latest in dosimetry. Following this, Professor Emilie van Deventer talked about radio fre-quency research priorities from the World Health Organi-zation perspective.

Reports were then given from each of the seven sponsored research areas, including such diverse areas as studies of free radical formation, other molecular level events, risk perception, and epidemiology:

1. PET study of cerebro-metabolic effects of non-ion-izing radiation from mobile phones.Albert Gjedde, Århus Universitet.

Fourteen healthy volunteer were examined in a PET scanner before and after exposure to a 900 MHz radia-tion from a mobile phone with SAR less than 2 W/kg. Measurements of blood flow and oxygen consumption were made, but no changes could be detected.

2. Experimental study of mobile base station related radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation in healthy adults and adolescents. Søren K. Kjærgaard, Institut for Folkesundhed, Århus Universitet.

Two groups of volunteers, 15- 16 years of age and 24 – 40 years, respectively, were exposed to UMTS radia-tion under controlled conditions while researchers mea-sured cognitive functions and symptoms. No effects, except a tendency towards headaches, were reported. A paper from the project has been published:

Riddervold IS, Pedersen GF, Andersen NT, Pedersen AD, Andersen JB, Zachariae R, Mølhave L, Sigsgaard T, Kjaergaard SK. Cognitive function and symptoms in adults and adolescents in relation to rf radiation from UMTS base stations. Bioelectromagnetics 2008 May;29(4):257-67.

3. Risk perception and communication. Ivar Sønbø Kristiansen, Research Unit for General Prac-tice, University of Southern Denmark

Twenty families were interviewed in person and a larg-er group was interviewed by telephone to assess varia-tions in risk perception. Researchers reported a wide variation in perceived risks, tending towards a larger percieved risk from new technology. By contrast, the risk of talking on a mobile phone while driving is not generally perceived as a serious risk.

A manuscript on this work entitled ”Living with risk in everyday life – a comparative analysis on handling and reflecting risk” has been submitted to Sociology of Ill-ness and Health.

4. Examination of the effects of low static magnetic fields and rf-exposure on biochemical reactions by the radical pair mechanism; the only known potentially active mechanism. Jørgen Boiden Pedersen, Institut for Fysik, Syddansk Universitet

This researcher, in collaboration with a Russian physi-cist, made theoretical calculations about the possible ef-fects of mobile phone frequency radiation on biochemi-cal reactions, focusing on free radical formation. The calculations showed that there is a possibility of affect-ing some chemical reactions. However, the researchers did not regard the biological consequences as serious.

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8 The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008

BEMS MEETING HELPS ESTABLISH RESEARCH GRoUP

In 1988 I attended a BEMS meeting for the first time. At that time I was going to start a series of bioassays of power frequency magnetic fields, but found difficulty about de-sign of the exposure facility under conditions of bioassay. I heard there was an EMF community in the U.S. How did they design such facilities? The meeting was held in Stamford, and of a rather small scale. I eagerly listened to the oral presentations and looked at the posters. There I met Dr. S.M. Harvey (Ontario Hydro) in front of his poster. His publication was on the in vivo exposure facility and he kindly discussed on the detail for me. His design satisfied perfectly the conditions of bioassay, and the cost of construction seemed to be reasonable. The meeting decided my fate. I constructed an animal expo-sure facility on the basis of his design. Since then I had been engaged in EMF research until retired according to Japanese schedule on 2002. My group, and my successors have still, published many studies in BEMS meetings and in the journal.

Yoshihisa OtakaBEMS Emeritus Member

The results were presented at the �0th annual BEMS meeting in San Diego.

5. Epidemiological investigations at the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology. Jørgen H. Olsen, Joachim Schüz, Christoffer Johansen, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen.

Three epidemiology projects are being conducted, with work continuing past the formal end of the Danish pro-gram:

i. Extended Follow-Up of the Danish Cohort of Mobile Phone SubscribersThe paper on the follow up for cancer was published in December 2006 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A letter to the Journal and the authors’ reply was published in the April 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A methodological inves-tigation of the potential of misclassification has been published in Bioelectromagnetics (2007). The analyses for risk of neurodegenerative disease are completed and a scientific paper has been sent out in March 2008 for language check review before publication.

ii. The Nordic Childhood Brain Tumor Study (now named CEFALO)The fieldwork for this study began in June 2006 with the sending out of the first invitation letters. The last progress report of the international study team prepared February 1, 2008, indicated a total of 280 eligible cases and 497 eligible controls, of which 203 case families and 351 control families had agreed to participate. Nor-way started contact procedures only this year. Overall, this project is continuing according to its original plan, and no results are available yet.

iii. WHO International Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health (now named COSMOS)This program was launched in week 44 in 2007. Of 100,000 invitees, 21,770 (21.8%) have replied. Of those, 16.768 (16.7%) have filled in the questionnaire and have sent back the signed informed consent form, while 335 subjects refused to participate by so indicat-ing on the consent form. The invitees were drawn from a sample of mobile phone subscribers stratified by gen-der, age group and amount of use (9 groups), reflecting the market share of the Danish mobile phone operators. The launch of the study created several questions by

phone or e-mail (about 1,500 e-mails and 700 phone calls (2.2% of all invited subjects), but unfriendly reac-tions were rare. The first analysis will be on usage pat-terns and the relation of use of mobile phones to other wireless devices and new technology.

6. Effects of non-ionizing radiation on neural develop-ment and mature brain: An experimental study em-ploying human and rodent, organotypic brain slice cultures and neural stem cells. Jens Zimmer Rasmussen, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Sydd-ansk Universitet, Odense.

Brain slices from newborn rats were exposed to UMTS and GSM 900 MHz radiation. No changes of the function of the nerve cells after radiation were noted compared to control slices. A manuscript is under preparation.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion that in-cluded all projects leaders and the entire program com-mittee.

More information on the programme and the projects can be found on the home page:www.mobil-straaling.dk.

PHoNE PRoGRAM, continued from page 7

The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008 9

See Calendar, continued on page 10

CALENDAR

6th International Non-Ionizing Radiation WorkshopDate: October 14-17, 2008Location: Rio de Janeiro, BRAZILNotes: see article in this issueContact: http://www.icnirp.org/NIR2008.htm

12th International Conference, International RadiationProtection Association, IRPA 12Date: October 19-24, 2008Location: Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA.focus: 1. Epistemology of radiation: Methods, current knowledge of physical and biological sciences in relation to effects ofradiation exposure. 2. Radiation Protection of people 3. Practiceof radiation protection by practitioners and industries.Contact: http://www.irpa12.org.ar

Workshop on Effects of Rf fieldsDate: November 17 to 19, 2008 Location: Stuttgart, GermanyOrganized by the FGF (Research Association for Radio Applications) jointly with the Ministry of the Environment Baden-Württemberg this international scientific workshop will focus on open questions in the research on biological and health effects of radiofrequency fields. Key issues will be the research on children, possible long-term effects with the example of animal experiments as well as on mechanisms in the cellular and subcellular area.There is no registration fee, but interested participants should send a note indicating their interest to haberland@fgf.de. Deadline for registration is on September 30th, 2008.

STUDENT SEEKS PoSTDoC PoSITIoN

I am a Ph. D. student in Medical physics at Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran and a student member of BEMs. I will be fulfilling the requirements for my Doc-torate degree by 20 Aug 2008. I had been in Sweden as a researcher studying the biological effects of magnetic filed in Lund University during the past 8 months. I have experience and qualifications including an M. S. in Medi-cal physics.

I would like to apply for a post doc position and very ea-ger to further my research activities in the area of Medical Physics or a closely related area. I very much look for-ward to having the opportunity to work or post doc posi-tion in USA or Europe. I would be pleased if anyone can inform me how I can get information about this matter. Mehri Kaviani Moghadam (kaviani_mm@yahoo.com)

ExTENSIoN of PIERS DEADLINEC-K Chou

The Progress for Electromagnetic Research Symposium (PIERS) has extended the deadline of abstract submission to October 7, 2008. If you planed to submit but missed the September deadline, you can still do it. To prepare for your abstract, authors are invited to submit a one-page abstract of no less than 250 words in English. No full-length paper is required, but you may submit a full paper for PIERS publication by November 7, 2008. The abstract should explain clearly the content and rel-evance of the proposed technical contribution. On a sepa-rate page list the following information: (1) Title of the paper, (2) Name, affiliation, and email of each author, (3) Mailing address, (4) Telephone/ Fax numbers, (5) Corre-sponding author and Presenting author, (6) Topic or Ses-sion organizer, if applicable, (7) State if poster presenta-tion is preferred. Papers may be submitted on the website http://piers.mit.edu/piers2k9Beijing/submit/submit_new.php. Under item 4, select item 27, Medical electromagnetics, RF biologi-cal effect, MRI, and item 5, select “RF Exposure Safety Issues organized by Chung-Kwang Chou”.

SPRBM CALL foR PAPERS foR 27TH SCIENTIfIC CoNfERENCE

Mechanisms of Cellular and Tissue Response to Physical Stimuli

Program Chair: Fred Pavalko, PhD

Turtle Bay Resort, oahu, Hawaii, January 6-9, 2009

ABSTRACT DEADLINENovember 25, 2008

CoNfERENCE ToPICSCellular Mechanotransduction Tissue EngineeringTissue Biomechanics MechanosensationCell-ECM Interactions Mechanical Habituation

KEYNoTE SPEAKERSLynda Bonewald, PhD Randall Duncan, PhDAlex Robling, PhD William Wagner, PhDYu-Li Wang, PhD Brad Yoeder, PhD

Contact Dr. Pavalko at: fpavalko@iupui.edu

10 The Bioelectromagnetics Society Newsletter July/August 2008

CALENDAR, continued from page 9

SPRBM 27th Scientific ConferenceDate: January 6-9, 2009Location: O’ahu, HawaiiContact: SPRBMoffice@aol.com, http://www.sprbm.org

SPIE Energy-Based Treatment of Tissue and AssessmentDate: January 24-29, 2009Location: San Jose, CA (USA)Notes: see March/April BEMS newsletterContact: http://spie.org/BiOS

Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS) for 2009Date: March 23-27, 2009Location: Beijing, CHINANotes: PIERS provides an international forum for reporting prog-ress and recent advances in the modern development of electro-magnetic theory and its new and exciting applications starting 1989. Spectra of interest range from statics to RF, microwave, photonics, and beyond. Topics include radiation, propagation, dif-fraction, scattering, guidance, resonance, power, energy and force issues, and all other modern developments. The 2009 meeting will have two sessions that are being organized by BEMS members: Both are under Topic 27: “Medical Electromagnetics, RF biologi-cal effect, MRI”:

- Advances in the Bioeffects and Exposure Standards for Non-Ionizing Radiation - Organized by Michael R. Murphy

- RF Exposure Safety Issues - Organized by C-K Chou

A third session of possible interest to BEMS members is:

- Biomedical Applications of Electromagnetic waves - Organized by Xu Li.

Abstract submission deadline: October 7, 2008Contact: http://piers.mit.edu/piers

Society for Thermal Medicine Annual MeetingDate: April 3-7, 2009Location: Tucson, AZAbstract submission deadline: December 5, 2008Contact: http://www.thermalmedicine.org

BioEM2009: Joint Meeting of The Bioelectromagnetics Society and the European BioElectromagnetics AssociationDate: June 14-19, 2009Location: Davos, SwitzerlandTechnical Program Co-Chairs: Dariusz Leszcynski and Guglielmo D’InzeoContact: http://www.bioelectromagnetics.org

THE BIoELECTRoMAGNETICS SoCIETY2412 COBBLESTONE WAYFREDERICK, MD 21702-2626 USA