2. Outline
• What is electromagnetism?
• Types of electromagnetism
• Wave lengths
• Sources of electromagnetism
• Natural
• Artificial (human-made)
• Main uses
• Technological
• Biological
• Effects of excessive or consistent
electromagnetism
• Harmful
• LF-EM modulates receptors in human
peripheral blood mononuclear cells
• ELF-EMF affects the DNA in human cells
• Electromagnetism on Peacemakers
• Beneficial
• Non-ionizing EM leads cancer cell
suppression
• Static Magnetic Field and Chemotherapy
Toxicity
• Conclusion
Available source:
http://www.patana.ac.th/secondary/science/
anrophysics/ntopic6/images/magnetic_field_
earth.jpg

3. What is Electromagnetism?
Description
• Effect of electricity and magnetism
unified through any means (land,
airborne, seaborne)
• Based in induction (voltage across
a conductor)
• Invisible, linear field traveling at
speed of light
• Can only be represented with
mathematics (frequencies and
wavelengths)
Types of electromagnetism
• Light waves (radiation)
• Steady currents of electric
charges (Static)
• Non-ionizing radiation
(harmless)
• Ionizing radiation (break
molecule bonds)

4. Sources
• Natural
• Lightning
• Earth’s magnetic field
• Artificial (human-made)
• X-rays
• Power outlets
• Mobile phones
• Anywhere where there
are electric charges

5. Main Uses
Technology
• Most of the electronic devices
operate through
electromagnetic pulses
• Without the purpose of emitting
unnecessary electromagnetic
radiation
Biology
• Some medical appliances use
and emit electromagnetic waves
as ways to get to diagnostics
• These appliances have the
purpose to emit electromagnetic
radiation
Available source: http://images.wisegeek.com/meteor-
and-a-radio-telescope.jpg Available source:
http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/magneta
cademy/mri/images/mri-scanner.jpg

6. Effects of Electromagnetic exposure
Devices
• Absolute dysfunction
• Variety of non-destructive
persistent failures (system
upset) (Holloway, et al. 2011)
Humans
• Some studies show that can
cause diseases
• Others show that can counteract
diseases
• It is not completely assured

7. Studies
Exposure of low frequency electromagnetic fields can modulate receptors in
human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
• Receptors respond to invading pathogens and are stimulus from the
innate immune system
• Human peripheral blood mononuclear cell were stimulated with
ligands and later exposed to controlled and standardized low
frequency electromagnetic fields (20–5000 Hz) for 30 minutes
• The conclusion was that there was no difference in immune response
• Using higher frequency electromagnetic fields with the same
experiment may lead to different results (Kleijn et al. 2011).

8. ELF-EMF may affect the DNA in human cells
• Used technique to detect any DNA damage at the level of the
individual eukaryotic cell (Comet assay)
• Human primary fibroblast cells were exposed to 50 Hz of EMF at 1
militesla (mT) of flux density
• Assay showed that the processes of DNA replication and cell
reproduction were the ones affected, not on the DNA itself
• In conclusion, the exposure of human primary fibroblast to ELF-EMF
stimulates cell termination (necrosis) rather than DNA alteration
(Focke et al. 2009)

9. Electromagnetism on Peacemakers
• Peacemakers operate by microcircuits
• EM interferes with a peacemaker’s function
• Causes wrong responses towards cardiac signals
• Instructions and guides about safe distances at which patients with
peacemakers can be, to ensure their normal function away from EM
sources that could interfere with the device (Lakshmanadoss et al.
2011)

10. Studies (Beneficial)
Non-ionizing EM leads cancer cell suppression
• Chemotherapy and ionizing radiation harm normal cell tissues
• 9 of 21 mice were used in preliminary experiment to discover if clinical
diseases or weight loss occur after being exposed to 100 mT, 1-Hz, half-
sine-wave unipolar magnetic fields
• 12 remaining mice were injected with breast cancer cells labelled with
firefly luciferase and part of them (9) were daily exposed to a non-ionizing
EM source for 360 minutes during four weeks
• Eventually, the mice that were exposed to the magnetic source subdue
cancer cell growth whereas the mice of the control group developed
tumours (Tatarov et al. 2011).

11. Electromegnetism and Chemotherapy Toxicity
• Investigators used a combination of static magnetic field (SMF) and
antineoplastic chemotherapy, in 10 patients with lung cancer, non-
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and colon/rectum cancer.
• White blood cell and platelet amount data were estimated from the
patients.
• Results from this work suggest that the combination of SMF and
antineoplastic chemotherapy is safe without increasing the severity of
chemotherapy toxicity (Salvatore et al. 2003).

12. Conclusion
• While some studies have shown that EMF can be prejudicial to
human environment, but others have proven completely the
opposite. Some researchers say that the relation, whether EMF can
cause problems to humans or not, rely on the level of frequency of
the radiation that is emitted and exposed.
• We should be aware of the localization of these sources just to
prevent unnecessary exposure and avoid other unknown
consequences.

13. References
• Anonimous. Unknown year. Electricity, Field Theory, Electromagnetism. [Internet]. Available
source: http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/21st_century_science/lectures/lec04.html
• Anonymous. Unknown year. Types of Electromagnetic Fields. [Internet]. Availeble source:
http://corrosion-doctors.org/Voltage/electromagnetic-def.htm
• Anonymous. 2013. Magnetic Field. Last updated November 30, 2013. Available source:
http://www.greenfacts.org/glossary/mno/magnetic-field.htm
• Anonymous. 2013. Contaminación Electromagnética. [Internet]. Wikipedia Encyclopedia [Cited 23
September 2013] Available source:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminaci%C3%B3n_electromagn%C3%A9tica
• Chou J, Su L. Unknown year. The Effects of Radiation on Matter. Available source:
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/@api/deki/pages/1491/pdf?stylesheet=default
• Dervié K, Janković S, Despotović Ž, Šinik V, Kerleta V. 2012. The Radiation of Electromagnetic
Fields of Very Low Frequency. II International Conference: Ecology of Urban Areas 2012: 348-356.
[Cited 15 October 2012]. Available from:
http://www.academia.edu/2967929/THE_RADIATION_OF_ELECTROMAGNETIC_FIELDS_OF_VERY
_LOW_FREQUENCY

14. • Focke F, Schuermann D, Kuster N, Schär P. 2009. DNA fragmentation in human fibroblasts under
extremely low electromagnetic field exposure. Science Direct [Internet]. Mutation Research 683
(2010): 74-83. [Cited November 6, 2009]. Available from: Focke F, Schuermann D, Kuster N, Schär
P. 2009. DNA fragmentation in human fibroblasts under extremely low electromagnetic field
exposure. Science Direct [Internet]. Mutation Research 683 (2010): 74-83. [cited November 6,
2009]. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0027510709003418
• Holloway M, Dilli Z, Seekhao N, Rodgers J. 2011. Study of Basics Electromagnetic Effects in CMOS
Integrated Circits. Available source:
http://www.ireap.umd.edu/AppEl/Publications/Tasks1,2/Holloway-2011.pdf
• Kleijn S, Bouwens M, Kemenade L, Cuppen J, Ferwerda G, Hermans P. 2011. Extremely low
frequency electromagnetic field exposure does not modulate toll-like receptor signalling in
human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Science Direct [Internet]. Cytokine: 43-50. [cited 15
Jan 2011]. Available from: www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/10434666
• Kune D, Backes J, Clark S, Kramer D, Matthew Reynolds, Fu K, Kim Y, Xu W. 2013 Ghost Talk:
Mitigating EMI Signal Injection Attacks against Analog Sensors. Web page source:
https://spqr.eecs.umich.edu/emi/ Available from: https://spqr.eecs.umich.edu/papers/fookune-
emi-oakland13.pdf

15. • Lakshmanadoss U, Chinnachamy P, Daubert J. 2011. Electromagnetic Interference of the
Pacemakers, Modern Pacemakers - Present and Future, Prof. Mithilesh R Das (Ed.), ISBN: 978-
953307-214-2, InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/modern-pacemakers-
present-andfuture/electromagnetic-interference-of-the-pacemakers
• Tatarov I, Panda A, Petkov D, Kolappaswamy K, Thompson K, Kavirayani A, Lipsky M, Elson E, Davis
C, Martin S, et al. 2011. Effect of magnetic fields on tumour growth and viability. National Center
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2011]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3155400/
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2012.Beneficial Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation in Cancer, Electromagnetic Radiation, Prof. S.
O. Bashir (Ed.), SBN: 978-953-51-0639-5, InTech, Available from:
http://www.intechopen.com/books/electromagneticradiation/beneficial-effects-of-
electromagnetic-radiation-in-cancer