Magnetic field effects on human lymphocytes

The results are discussed of a systematic investigation into the electromagnetic held (EMP) exposure consequences on human lymphocytes. These artificial fields have intensities comparable to the Earth's magnetic field, and are used for exposures up to 4 days. Different and complementary techniques are used to safely assess the consequences of EMFs on the cells; in particular, morphology, metabolism, and population dynamics are investigated. The recourse to ultramicroscopy, pressure monitoring in sealed bottles, atomic mass spectroscopy, and cytofluorimetry techniques give good insight into the EMF-induced changes. A statistically significant deviation of irradiated samples with respect to control samples is reported. A critical analysis and a survey of similar experiments reported in the literature led us to examine the experimental setup with attention to the geometry of the irradiation system. Yeast cells were used as a model system to statistically test the different steps in the overall procedure, thanks to information gathered during a radiobiology experiment performed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Finally, the role of different magnetic field detectors in the reproducibility of the experiments is carefully discussed.