Search Results (30)

Electrification of public transit is central to sustainable urban development, yet it introduces passenger exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs), which the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). This study presents a systematic cross-platform comparison of ELF-MF exposure in direct current (DC) light rail and alternating current (AC) heavy rail systems operating under a single national regulatory framework. A total of 9100 continuous measurements were collected across 28 trips on the Tel Aviv Red Line light rail transit (1500 V DC) and the Israel Railways Tel Aviv–Binyamina corridor (25 kV, 50 Hz AC) during 23–26 November 2025, using calibrated Tenmars TM-192D gaussmeters. Mean passenger seat magnetic flux density was 0.226 ± 0.147 µT (2.26 ± 1.47 mG) for the DC system and 0.900 ± 0.606 µT (9.00 ± 6.06 mG) for the AC system. The difference was highly significant (Welch’s t = −73.06, p < 0.001). DC light rail exposure remained consistently below Israel’s precautionary 0.4 µT (4 mG) threshold for continuous public exposure, whereas AC heavy rail mean levels exceeded this threshold in every monitored trip while remaining far below ICNIRP general public reference levels. These findings highlight a “Green Dilemma” in sustainable transport policy: the environmental benefits of rail electrification must be balanced with prudent electromagnetic exposure management in jurisdictions applying strict precautionary limits. Full article

Extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) generated by high-voltage power lines raise concerns about their potential impact on health and well-being. Previous research suggests that chronic exposure to ELF-MFs can contribute to sleep disturbances, headaches, and mood disorders, possibly through physiological stress responses and melatonin disruption. This study examines whether self-reported happiness mediates the relationship between exposure to ELF-MFs and health symptoms among people living near a 161 kV transmission line in the city of Or Akiva in Israel. A total of 427 participants completed questionnaires on physical symptoms and life satisfaction, while fixed-site ELF-MF measurements were conducted at and around homes. The structural equation modelling (SEM) was then applied to assess the direct and indirect effects of exposure to ELF-MFs, complemented by logistic regressions for confounder analysis. The results indicate that higher exposure to ELF-MFs was associated with lower happiness and increased symptoms, including poor sleep and reduced mobility (p < 0.05). On the contrary, greater happiness was correlated with fewer headaches, better sleep quality, improved mobility, and reduced perceived need for medical care (p < 0.01). Mediation analysis also revealed that happiness partially buffers the adverse effects of ELF-MFs on headaches, mood, and sleep problems (p < 0.05). Full article

Magnetic fields (MFs), including static (SMFs) and extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs), have recently emerged as potential modulators of anticancer drug responses. Evidence indicates that MFs can influence membrane transport, oxidative stress, DNA damage, apoptosis, and cell cycle regulation, thereby altering the efficacy of chemotherapeutics and targeted agents. These effects are strongly dependent on MFs’ parameters and biological context, leading to synergistic, antagonistic and no-effect outcomes. However, inconsistent exposure protocols, limited reproducibility, and scarce clinical validation remain major obstacles. This review highlights current experimental findings, proposes mechanistic links between MFs and drug action, and outlines key challenges for advancing MF-based adjuvant strategies in oncology. Full article

Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) can induce biological alterations in human cells, including peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). However, the molecular mechanisms and key regulatory factors underlying this cellular response remain largely unknown. In this study, we analyzed the proteomic profiles of PBMCs isolated from three human subjects. PBMCs were exposed to 50 Hz, 1 mT of ELF-MF for 24 h and compared to unexposed PBMCs from the same individuals. ELF-MF exposure altered the expression levels of several PBMC proteins without affecting cell proliferation, cell viability, or cell cycle progression. A total of 51 proteins were upregulated, 36 of which were intercorrelated and associated with the Cellular Metabolic Process (GO:0044237) and Metabolic Process (GO:0008152). Among them, solute carrier family 25 member 4 (SLC25A4), which catalyzes the exchange of cytoplasmic ADP for mitochondrial ATP across the inner mitochondrial membrane, was consistently upregulated in all ELF-MF–exposed samples. Additionally, 67 proteins were downregulated, many of which are linked to T cell costimulation (GO:0031295), Cell activation (GO:0001775), and Immune system processes (GO:0002376) included ASPSCR1, PCYT1A, PCYT2, QRAS, and REPS1. In conclusion, ELF-MF exposure induces metabolic reprogramming in human PBMCs, characterized by the upregulation of mitochondrial proteins and downregulation of immune-activation-related proteins, without compromising cell viability or proliferation. Full article

Background: Strokes are a major public health concern, responsible for high mortality and long-term disability rates. Rehabilitation techniques aim to harness neuroplasticity—brain self-repair mechanisms that restore lost functions. Beyond traditional methods, therapies like Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields (ELF-MFs) show promise in enhancing neuroplasticity. This pilot study explored the feasibility and safety of ELF-MFs in stroke rehabilitation. Methods: The study involved 44 patients randomized into three groups: magnetotherapy applied to the head (MT1), pelvis (MT2), or standard rehabilitation (control). Assessments included functional measures (FIM, Barthel Index, Tinetti Scale, SPPB, and Berg Balance Scale) and inflammatory markers (CRP, PCT). Results: All groups showed functional improvement, with CRP and PCT reductions highlighting potential benefits of ELF-MFs. No adverse effects or changes in blood or organ function were observed. Conclusions: ELF-MFs could be safely conducted in this group allowing for further research to confirm their efficacy in larger studies. Full article

Background: The aim of this study was to review the current state of scientific evidence on the effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields stimulation (ELF-MFs) on stroke patients. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, ScienceDirect, PeDro and Embase databases was conducted. Only articles published in English, involving adult participants and focusing on individuals who had experienced a stroke, specifically examining the impact of ELF-MFs on post-stroke patients and had well-defined criteria for inclusion and exclusion of participants, were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies (QATQS). Results: A total of 71 studies were identified through database and reference lists’ search, from which 9 were included in the final synthesis. All included studies showed a beneficial effect of ELF-MFs on stroke patients, however seven of the included studies were carried by the same research group. Improvements were observed in domains such as oxidative stress, inflammation, ischemic lesion size, functional status, depressive symptoms and cognitive abilities. Conclusions: The available literature suggests a beneficial effect of ELF-MFs on post-stroke patients; however, the current data are too limited to broadly recommend the use of this method. Further research with improved methodological quality is necessary. Full article

Magnetic fields are a constant and essential part of our environment. The main components of ambient magnetic fields are the constant part of the geomagnetic field, its fluctuations caused by magnetic storms, and man-made magnetic fields. These fields refer to extremely-low-frequency (<1 kHz) magnetic fields (ELF-MFs). Since the 1980s, a huge amount of data has been accumulated on the biological effects of magnetic fields, in particular ELF-MFs. However, a unified picture of the patterns of action of magnetic fields has not been formed. Even though a unified mechanism has not yet been generally accepted, several theories have been proposed. In this review, we attempted to take a new approach to analyzing the quantitative data on the effects of ELF-MFs to identify new potential areas for research. This review provides general descriptions of the main effects of magnetic storms and anthropogenic fields on living organisms (molecular–cellular level and whole organism) and a brief description of the main mechanisms of magnetic field effects on living organisms. This review may be of interest to specialists in the fields of biology, physics, medicine, and other interdisciplinary areas. Full article

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exists widely in public and occupational environments. However, its potential adverse effects and the underlying mechanism on nervous system, especially behavior are still poorly understood. In this study, zebrafish embryos (including a transfected synapsin IIa (syn2a) overexpression plasmid) at 3 h post-fertilization (hpf) were exposed to a 50-Hz magnetic field (MF) with a series of intensities (100, 200, 400 and 800 μT, respectively) for 1 h or 24 h every day for 5 days. Results showed that, although MF exposure did not affect the basic development parameters including hatching rate, mortality and malformation rate, yet MF at 200 μT could significantly induce spontaneous movement (SM) hypoactivity in zebrafish larvae. Histological examination presented morphological abnormalities of the brain such as condensed cell nucleus and cytoplasm, increased intercellular space. Moreover, exposure to MF at 200 μT inhibited syn2a transcription and expression, and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level as well. Overexpression of syn2a could effectively rescue MF-induced SM hypoactivity in zebrafish. Pretreatment with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) could not only recover syn2a protein expression which was weakened by MF exposure, but also abolish MF-induced SM hypoactivity. However, syn2a overexpression did not affect MF-increased ROS. Taken together, the findings suggested that exposure to a 50-Hz MF inhibited spontaneous movement of zebrafish larvae via ROS-mediated syn2a expression in a nonlinear manner. Full article

In a previous study of the effects of intermittent extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MF) on umbilical cord blood lymphocytes (UCBL), we evaluated MF amplitudes between 6 µT and 24 µT and found an effect only for those below 13 µT. This suggested the existence of an amplitude window. In this brief communication, we further tested this hypothesis. UCBLs from healthy newborns were isolated and exposed for 72 h to an intermittent ELF-MF (triangular, 7.8 Hz, 250 s ON/250 s OFF) with 6 different amplitudes between 3 µT and 12 µT, utilizing an oblong coil. Percentage of viable, early apoptotic (EA), and late apoptotic/necrotic (LAN) cells were determined by flow cytometry. Moreover, reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined at 1 h and 3 h of the exposure. Like in our previous work, neither EA, nor LAN, nor ROS were statistically significantly affected by the intermittent ELF-MF. However, the percentage of viable cells was decreased by exposure to the fields with intensities of 6.5 µT and 12 µT (p < 0.05; and p = 0.057 for 8.5 µT). ELF-MF decreased the percentage of viable cells for fields down to 6.5 µT, but not for 5 µT, 4 µT, or 3 µT. Combined with our previous findings, the results reported here indicate an amplitude window effect between 6 µT and 13 µT. The obtained data are in line with a notion of amplitude and frequency windows, which request scanning of both amplitude and frequency while studying the ELF-MF effects. Full article

The effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-MF) exposure on living systems have been widely studied at the fundamental level and also claimed as beneficial for the treatment of diseases for over 50 years. However, the underlying mechanisms and cellular targets of ELF-MF exposure remain poorly understood and the field has been plagued with controversy stemming from an endemic lack of reproducibility of published findings. To address this problem, we here demonstrate a technically simple and reproducible EMF exposure protocol to achieve a standardized experimental approach which can be readily adopted in any lab. As an assay system, we chose a commercially available inflammatory model human cell line; its response to magnetic fields involves changes in gene expression which can be monitored by a simple colorimetric reporter gene assay. The cells were seeded and cultured in microplates and inserted into a custom-built, semi-automated incubation and exposure system which accurately controls the incubation (temperature, humidity, ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$) and magnetic-field exposure conditions. A specific alternating magnetic field (<1.0% spatial variance) including far-field reduction provided defined exposure conditions at the position of each well of the microplate. To avoid artifacts, all environmental and magnetic-field exposure parameters were logged in real time throughout the duration of the experiment. Under these extensively controlled conditions, the effect of the magnetic field on the cell cultures as assayed by the standardized operating procedure was highly reproducible between experiments. As we could fully define the characteristics (frequency, intensity, duration) of the pulsed magnetic field signals at the position of the sample well, we were, for the first time, able to accurately determine the effect of changing single ELF-MF parameters such as signal shape, frequency, intensity and duty cycle on the biological response. One signal in particular (10 Hz, $50\%$ duty cycle, rectangular, bipolar, $39.6\mathsf{\mu }$T) provided a significant reduction in cytokine reporter gene expression by $37\%$ in our model cell culture line. In sum, the accuracy, environmental control and data-logging capacity of the semi-automated exposure system should greatly facilitate research into fundamental cellular response mechanisms and achieve the consistency necessary to bring ELF-MF/PEMF research results into the scientific mainstream. Full article

Empirical studies link exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) to several health symptoms. However, it is unclear whether these symptoms are associated with actual or perceived exposure. In this study we attempted to answer this question by studying the health complaints of employees working in a multi-story office building located near a major high-voltage power line. ELF-MF measurements were conducted in the building using a triaxial sensor coil device on all 15 floors. In parallel, questionnaires were administered to evaluate the prevalence of various health symptoms among the employees. Multivariate logistic regressions were used next to quantify the associations between actual and perceived ELF-MF exposure and the employees’ health complaints. The analysis revealed that feelings of weakness, headache, frustration, and worry were associated with both measured and perceived ELF-MF exposure (p < 0.01), while perceived ELF-MF exposure was also found to be associated with eye pain and irritation (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.2–1.6), sleepiness (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1–1.5), dizziness and ear pain (OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0–1.4). We conclude that high-voltage power lines produce both physiological and psychological effects in nearby workers, and, hence, proximity to such power lines should become a public health issue. Full article

Electromagnetic interference is a serious and increasing form of environmental pollution, creating many issues in the areas of health care and industrial manufacturing. The performance of high-precision measurement equipment used in health care and the manufacturing industry is sensitive to electromagnetic interference. However, extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELFMF), with a frequency range from 3 to 30 Hz, generated by high-power lines have become the main interference source in high-tech foundries. This paper presents a magnetic cancelling system that works by combining active cancelling technology and passive cancelling technology to reduce the ELFMF around high-precision measurement equipment. The simulation and experimental results show the validity and feasibility of the proposed system. Full article

Natural and artificial extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELFMFs) are important factors influencing physiological processes in living organisms including terrestrial plants. Earlier, it was experimentally shown that short-term and long-term treatments by ELFMFs with Schumann resonance frequencies (7.8, 14.3, and 20.8 Hz) influenced parameters of photosynthetic light reactions in wheat leaves. The current work is devoted to an analysis of potential ways of this ELFMF influence on the light reactions. Only a short-term wheat treatment by 14.3 Hz ELFMF was used in the analysis. First, it was experimentally shown that ELFMF-induced changes (an increase in the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, a decrease in the non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence, a decrease in time of changes in these parameters, etc.) were observed under the action of ELFMF with widely ranging magnitudes (from 3 to 180 µT). In contrast, the potential quantum yield of photosystem II and time of relaxation of the energy-dependent component of the non-photochemical quenching were not significantly influenced by ELFMF. Second, it was shown that the ELFMF treatment decreased the proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane. In contrast, the H⁺ conductivity increased under this treatment. Third, an analysis of the simplest mathematical model of an H⁺ transport across the thylakoid membrane, which was developed in this work, showed that changes in H⁺ fluxes related to activities of the photosynthetic electron transport chain and the H⁺-ATP synthase were not likely a mechanism of the ELFMF influence. In contrast, changes induced by an increase in an additional H⁺ flux (probably, through the proton leakage and/or through the H⁺/Ca²⁺ antiporter activity in the thylakoid membrane) were in good accordance with experimental results. Thus, we hypothesized that this increase is the mechanism of the 14.3 Hz ELFMF influence (and, maybe, influences of other low frequencies) on photosynthetic light reactions in wheat. Full article

Biological effects of extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) and its consequences on human health have become the subject of important and recurrent public debate. ELF-MF evokes cell/organism responses that are characteristic to a general stress reaction, thus it can be regarded as a stress factor. Exposure to ELF-MF “turns on” different intracellular mechanisms into both directions: compensatory or deleterious ones. ELF-MF can provoke morphological and physiological changes in stress-related systems, mainly nervous, hormonal, and immunological ones. This review summarizes the ELF-MF-mediated changes at various levels of the organism organization. Special attention is placed on the review of literature from the last decade. Most studies on ELF-MF effects concentrate on its negative influence, e.g., impairment of behavior towards depressive and anxiety disorders; however, in the last decade there was an increase in the number of research studies showing stimulating impact of ELF-MF on neuroplasticity and neurorehabilitation. In the face of numerous studies on the ELF-MF action, it is necessary to systematize the knowledge for a better understanding of the phenomenon, in order to reduce the risk associated with the exposure to this factor and to recognize the possibility of using it as a therapeutic agent. Full article

Photosynthesis is an important target of action of numerous environmental factors; in particular, stressors can strongly affect photosynthetic light reactions. Considering relations of photosynthetic light reactions to electron and proton transport, it can be supposed that extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELFMF) may influence these reactions; however, this problem has been weakly investigated. In this paper, we experimentally tested a hypothesis about the potential influence of ELFMF of 18 µT intensity with Schumann resonance frequencies (7.8, 14.3, and 20.8 Hz) on photosynthetic light reactions in wheat and pea seedlings. It was shown that ELFMF decreased non-photochemical quenching in wheat and weakly influenced quantum yield of photosystem II at short-term treatment; in contrast, the changes in potential and effective quantum yields of photosystem II were observed mainly under chronic action of ELFMF. It is interesting that both short-term and chronic treatment decreased the time periods for 50% activation of quantum yield and non-photochemical quenching under illumination. Influence of ELFMF on pea was not observed at both short-term and chronic treatment. Thus, we showed that ELFMF with Schumann resonance frequencies could influence photosynthetic light processes; however, this effect depends on plant species (wheat or pea) and type of treatment (short-term or chronic). Full article