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Interdisciplinary and international contributions to research on biological effects of electromagnetic waves: Past performances and future challenges
Author(s) -
Johnson Curtis C.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/rs014i001p00001
Subject(s) - electromagnetic radiation , radio wave , computer science , microwave , medical physics , engineering ethics , telecommunications , physics , optics , engineering
From lessons learned in the late 1960s and early 1970s, skilled teams of interdisciplinary investigators have formed that are making technical and scientific contributions to knowledge of the biological response to non‐ionizing electromagnetic radiations. Examples of technological advances in the US and other Western nations are nonperturbing thermal sensors, and dosimeters for measuring whole‐body absorption of energy and for determining differential uptake of energy in tissues of interest. These advances have enabled considerable gains in knowledge and prediction of energy capture by human and infrahuman bodies as functions of wavelength and orientation of an object in the field. Complementing these advances are those by Eastern investigators, who have performed many epidemiological surveys and have pioneered studies of behavioral and nervous reactions to long‐term, low‐level irradiation. The resulting accretion of data, including those from international programs of scientific exchange, will help provide a sound basis for standards of safety and for beneficial applications of radio frequency energy. Especially promising in the area of medicine are microwave techniques for non‐invasive diagnostic “imaging” of deep tissues, and for treatment of cancer.