The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics from PRI: Science and Creativity from Studio 360 by interact@pri.org

When science fiction was just catching on in the early 20th century, writers looked to the field of quantum mechanics for ideas. They sensationalized scientific advancements and sparked public fear. Physics professor James Kakalios — author of The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics — tells Kurt about the real science behind death rays and atomic radiation. Listen to the podcast.

Amir D. Aczel: Present at the Creation: The Story of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider

Recently, NPR did a story on the interesting book and author, Present at the Creation. On the radio program, Talk of the Nation, the author was a guest, and this was recently posted on the accompanying webpage for that episode/show: In his new book, Present at the Creation, Amir D. Aczel tells the story of the European Organization for Nuclear Research's Large Hadron Collider. With the multibillion-euro collider, researchers hope to recreate the conditions that existed just after the Big Bang. The podcast of that show is embedded down below.

Devra Davis: Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family

In "Is your BlackBerry making you sick?" from the Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin writes:

I've seen enough scientific reports about the potential hazards associated with cellphones to make me concerned about his exposure, but also enough contradictory studies to leave me confused. In October, for example, the European Journal of Oncology published a study that found a link between wireless radiation and heart irregularities. Two new books - Ann Louise Gittleman's "Zapped" and Devra Davis's "Disconnect" - promise to settle the debate about whether mobile devices are bad for you. [...] Davis makes a compelling case for U.S. authorities to update their standards, especially in light of how much we now use our devices and the number of teenagers who now have them. Even the National Cancer Institute, which says there is no consistent link between cellphones and cancer, notes that children may be at a greater risk because their nervous systems are still developing at the time of exposure.

See that Washington Post piece here. The Seattle Times mentioned the book and author's work in "Put down that cellphone and back away: Do an EMF audit of your house."

In "Disconnect," scientist Devra Davis focuses on cellphone radiation and what she believes (and shows pretty convincingly) the industry has done to bury the bad news. Health writer Ann Louise Gittleman, author of "Zapped," also tackles cellphones, but she goes even further, pointing out that potentially dangerous electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are and lurking in places we'd never suspect: wall outlets, electric blankets, dimmer switches, hair dryers, iPod docking stations, refrigerators, electric razors, digital cameras, and even those electronic collars dogs wear that let them through their doggy doors.

See that Seattle Times piece here. See also: Advances in Electromagnetic Fields in Living Systems: Volume 5, Health Effects of Cell Phone Radiation, Lawsuits call for more information on dangers of cell phone radiation.: An article from: Trial, Radiation Rescue: Safer solutions for cell phones and other wireless technologies, Cell Phones and The Dark Deception: Find Out What You're Not Being Told...And Why, Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age: An Insider's Alarming Discoveries About Cancer and Genetic Damage, The Invisible Threat: The Risks Associated With EMFs & Effective Interventions.



In "The disturbing truth about cellphones," from The Globe and Mail, this is reported: Dr. Davis says brain cancers typically take decades to develop, and the fact that they're being found after 10 years in cellphone users after relatively light exposure by today's usage standards is worrisome. “For such a risk to show up in cellphone users within 10 years given what we know about brain tumours, which is that they can have a latency of 40 years, is deeply, deeply disturbing,” she said in an interview. [...] Dr. Davis writes that experiments indicate these waves do pack a biological punch. Rats exposed to just two hours of microwave radiation had broken strands of DNA, the damage known to occur in cancer. The rats also had brain-cell alterations, memory lapses and fluids leaking from their brains into their blood, indicating a breach of the blood-brain barrier.





From the Environmental Health Trust: Designated a National Book Award Finalist for When Smoke Ran Like Water (2002, Basic Books), Devra Davis founded Environmental Health Trust in 2007 in Teton County, Wyoming to provide basic research and education about environmental health hazards and promote constructive policies locally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Davis lectures at Georgetown, Harvard, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and other universities, and was Founding Director, Center for Environmental Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and Professor of Epidemiology at the Graduate School of Public Health (2004-2009). The Secret History of the War on Cancer was a top pick by Newsweek, is forming the basis for national cancer policy revisions by the South African Cancer Society, and is being used at major schools of public health, including Harvard, Emory, and Tulane University. Dr. Davis also was the founding director of the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology of the U.S. National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences and Scholar in Residence, 1983-1993. Her new book, Disconnect, selected by TIME magazine as a top pick, provides shocking detail about cell phone radiation and your health, is receiving kudos from experts and policy makers around the world, and is the subject of broad multi-media coverage.





From Wikipedia: Devra Lee Davis (born 1946) is an American epidemiologist and writer. She was born June 7, 1946, in Washington, DC, the daughter of Harry B. and Jean Langer Davis, and was raised in Donora, Pennsylvania and in Pittsburgh, where she graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School. Her book When Smoke Ran Like Water, which begins with the tale of the Donora Smog of 1948, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2002. Davis's second book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer was published by Basic Books in October 2007. Her new book, "Disconnect," debuted in September 2010. It discusses the dangers of modern cell phone use and the ways in which the cell phone industry has gone to lengths to cover these up.