Ryan Grzymala

Ryan Grzymala

Nov 20, 2020

Group 6 Copy 356
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Opportunity to Speak

This past week I was accepted to speak about this project at the American Physics Society's Mid-Atlantic Meeting in December. It is because of your continued support of this project that I was able to achieve this, and I would like to thank you all for that!!!

If you would like to read my abstract, it is below. Thank you once again!!

Abstract: Cell phones and radar emit low-frequency radiation. This has driven some to question whether these items cause adverse effects such as cancer, given the amount of time people are exposed to them. Using Drosophila Melanogaster (DM) and an E. coli variation of the Ames test, the living systems were exposed to both cell phone and radar low-frequency radiation. DM Trial A results of cell phones and radar exposure were inconclusive due to the experimental controls. For the next four DM trials, several new controls were implemented including duration of exposure (1, 2, and 8 hours), an active cell phone call instead of the cell phone simply powered on, monitoring temperature and humidity more frequently, and changing the species of DM to one with all recessive traits. These new trials resulted in a 0% mutation rate for all DM groups and all exposure times. Additionally, all populations of the tubes followed the same trend over the three generations, thus showing that exposure to both cell phone and radar low frequency radiation yielded no effect on the birthrate of DM. For the modified Ames test with E. coli, after exposure, the results showed a coloration that was defined as being non-toxic. In conclusion, both tests support the theory that cell phones and radar do not increase mutation rates.

3 comments

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  • Andrea Bradley
    Andrea Bradley Backer
    Bravo Ryan! Well done.
    Nov 20, 2020
  • Ellen McCann
    Ellen McCannBacker
    Woot woot! Outstanding!
    Nov 20, 2020
  • Wendy
    WendyBacker
    This is fascinating, Ryan! I am also very happy about the experiment results ;)
    Nov 20, 2020

About This Project

Low frequency radiation is a very common form of radiation in people's lives, two examples being cell phones and car radar emitters, used as safety features. Some studies have raised concerns over cell phones, but the available literature remains inconclusive. I am testing E.coli using the Ames test, a test for mutagenic substances, and fruit flies, using both cell phones and radar guns. I hypothesize there will be no change in the rate of mutations among test specimen when exposed.

Blast off!

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