IMPORTANT research: Cell phone use increases brain activity -- not good for children (or adults, either? Doctors don't know.)

Very Important article on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/22/cell.phone.brain.activity/index.html?hpt=Sbin
It gives cause for concern, especially with so many kids using cell phones these days, not to mention billions of adults around the world.  At the very least, until more research is done, it seems everyone should be using a Bluetooth or similar earpiece instead of holding the phone to one's ear.

EXCERPT: The radiation emitted after just 50 minutes on a mobile phone increases the activity in brain cells, according to a new government-funded study.  The effects of that brain activity are not known, said the researchers, who called for more study.  Phones that were turned off did not create the same brain activity.

The study was praised as offering "an important insight into potential effects of cell phone radiation on the human brain" by Renee Sharp, director of the Environmental Working Group California office. "It joins the growing list of studies that have raised concerns about cell phone use and the brain."

Researchers measured brain activity of 47 healthy adults -- a small but scientifically valid size group for this type of study -- while using a mobile device. The levels were tested when the phone was in use (transmitting radiation) against the head and when against the head but in the off position. Compared with subjects whose phones were turned off, the group whose phones were on had "significantly higher" brain activity in the area closest to the telephone antenna.

'How to keep your brain away from the antenna'

The findings of the study, which examined the subjects during just one 50-minute exposure, raise a key question, the researchers said: What, if any, are the long-term consequences of repeated increased brain activity due to exposure to cell phone radiation?  "We need to rule out that there is a not long-lasting effect in healthy people," Volkow said. "We don't know what repeated exposure and artificial activation of the glucose will have on the brain."

The effect of increased brain activity in children because of cell phone radiation is another area yet to be studied.

The skull of a child is thinner, allowing radiation to penetrate deeper compared with that of an adult, according to Dr. Keith Black, chairman of Cedars-Sinai Hospital's Department of Neurosurgery in Los Angeles. "Children's cells divide at a faster rate, so the impact of radiation can be much larger, which is why we believe the pediatric population is at a higher risk."