Upper bound on the biological effects of 50/60 Hz magnetic fields mediated by radical pairs

2019 · No effect · Low evidence

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No effectLow evidencePaper 1895

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2019

Study typeother

Reported directionNo effect

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Upper bound on the biological effects of 50/60 Hz magnetic fields mediated by radical pairs Hore PJ. Upper bound on the biological effects of 50/60 Hz magnetic fields mediated by radical pairs. Elife. 2019 Feb 25;8. pii: e44179. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44179. Abstract Prolonged exposure to weak (~1 µT) extremely-low-frequency (ELF, 50/60 Hz) magnetic fields has been associated with an increased risk of childhood leukemia. One of the few biophysical mechanisms that might account for this link involves short-lived chemical reaction intermediates known as radical pairs. In this report, we use spin dynamics simulations to derive an upper bound of 10 parts per million on the effect of a 1 µT ELF magnetic field on the yield of a radical pair reaction. By comparing this figure with the corresponding effects of changes in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field, we conclude that if exposure to such weak 50/60 Hz magnetic fields has any effect on human biology, and results from a radical pair mechanism, then the risk should be no greater than travelling a few kilometres towards or away from the geomagnetic north or south pole. Open access paper: elifesciences.org

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionno_effect

PopulationNot supplied

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureELF · prolonged exposure (mentioned)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Using spin dynamics simulations, the report derives an upper bound of 10 parts per million on the effect of a ~1 µT 50/60 Hz magnetic field on the yield of a radical pair reaction. The author concludes that if such weak ELF magnetic fields affect human biology via a radical pair mechanism, the risk should be no greater than that associated with travelling a few kilometres toward or away from the geomagnetic poles (i.e., changes in Earth’s magnetic field strength).

Outcomes measured

Radical pair reaction yield (spin dynamics simulations)
Upper bound on biological effect magnitude from 1 µT 50/60 Hz magnetic fields (radical pair mechanism context)

Limitations

Modeling/simulation study (spin dynamics) rather than direct biological/epidemiological measurements
Assumes effects, if any, are mediated by a radical pair mechanism
Focuses on an upper bound for a specific field strength (~1 µT) and frequency (50/60 Hz)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "prolonged exposure (mentioned)"
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Radical pair reaction yield (spin dynamics simulations)",
    "Upper bound on biological effect magnitude from 1 µT 50/60 Hz magnetic fields (radical pair mechanism context)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Using spin dynamics simulations, the report derives an upper bound of 10 parts per million on the effect of a ~1 µT 50/60 Hz magnetic field on the yield of a radical pair reaction. The author concludes that if such weak ELF magnetic fields affect human biology via a radical pair mechanism, the risk should be no greater than that associated with travelling a few kilometres toward or away from the geomagnetic poles (i.e., changes in Earth’s magnetic field strength).",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Modeling/simulation study (spin dynamics) rather than direct biological/epidemiological measurements",
    "Assumes effects, if any, are mediated by a radical pair mechanism",
    "Focuses on an upper bound for a specific field strength (~1 µT) and frequency (50/60 Hz)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely-low-frequency",
    "ELF",
    "50/60 Hz",
    "magnetic fields",
    "1 µT",
    "radical pairs",
    "spin dynamics simulations",
    "childhood leukemia (association mentioned)",
    "geomagnetic field"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.7554/elife.44179
PubMed: Not supplied

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