Evidence of meeting #54 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was studies.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
You had my attention when you mentioned DNA. With the data that's compacted in that DNA structure, it's the most efficient information storage system we've identified anywhere in the universe so far. I want to ask you to go back to what you said—because maybe I missed something—about the CTCT sequence at about every 250 base pairs.
What was the implication? Were you implying that ELF frequencies can interact with the genome at some level and have a negative impact? Could you please expand on that?
Prof. Martin Blank
On a sort of a pure chance basis, given that four of these bases are used by the body to make the code and to use the code, you would expect that in 3 billion base pairs you would find one in roughly every 250 lengths. That means there's a possibility of interacting at any point in the DNA chain, and since any point may come at a particular size of loop.... In other words, you may get a CTCT at the very end, with a little piece of chain sticking out. You can get a reaction there, but you can also get one where you have a loop and a coiled coil, which represents a larger one, more like the big ring on the old TV antenna. The DNA has electrons that can respond and do respond to electric fields.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Was there a particular reason that it was the CTCT, that particular—
Prof. Martin Blank
That's the one we found in the reaction that started the formation of stress protein hsp70.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Thank you for that. It's fascinating.
Meg Sears, you got all the men's attention, of course, when you mentioned sperm. I know that on TV there was a study on vasectomies, and for the men in the audience, as soon as they brought it up, all the men were caught simultaneously crossing their legs.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
You mentioned brain tumours, especially in children. You mentioned salivary glands.
You mentioned the brassiere for 10 years. It would seem to me that you would have tremendous potential for disruption of cells when you have that device so close to your body. I'm trying to keep mine away from my body as much as possible here—
Adjunct Investigator, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, As an Individual
Good plan.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
In my own experience, I can tell you that when I started to carry a cellphone on my waist, I thought a lot about where I was going to put it. I sure didn't want to put it anywhere near my heart.
Adjunct Investigator, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, As an Individual
Yes.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
I finally strapped it on next to the iliac crest. The kidneys might be exposed, but hopefully there's a little more shielding there. I can tell you that I felt a pain in my hip when I started to carry that thing 15 years ago, after I was elected, because I had never carried one before. Eventually that pain was shut down. I think that would be habituation.
After 10 years, that pain started to come back, so I've switched to the opposite side. I noticed that when I talked on a cellphone for more than a few minutes, I would get a pain in the temple. That causes me some concern.
That's just anecdotal, of course, but I think the information you're presenting here is a bit alarming, since you mentioned that the literature search ended in 2011—
Adjunct Investigator, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, As an Individual
Yes.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
—and I think both of you have alluded to research that has come up since.
This goes back to you, Dr. Blank. Can I ask you to please identify—
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Could I just ask him to identify when the research that he mentioned was done by Mr. Lerchl?
Prof. Martin Blank
That's not published yet, but you can actually find out about it by looking at the Microwave News. When this came out, they did a special article on it. Louis Slesin, the editor, has been publishing for years and is a very good information source about EMF. You can look up Microwave News.
Prof. Martin Blank
By the way, if I can say just one thing that you may be grateful for, people don't realize that the cellphone, in order to operate, has to know where you are all the time, so it is constantly in contact with the tower, which means that it's sending out signals. You don't realize that when you're carrying it.
It's easy enough to shut it off, and then, when you want to know what messages have come in, to turn it on and listen to it. Don't keep it on all the time, because you're getting irradiated.
