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Study says cellphone radiation not hazardous to your health, unless you’re a male rat

A shopper tries out the Apple iPhone 6. Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

New research says that cell phone radiation probably isn’t harmful to human health. Mice and rats however, are a different story.

A U.S. government study unveiled this past week revealed that male rats showed increased signs of a particular kind of heart tumour after being exposed to exponential amounts of cellphone radiation.

However, government scientists who compiled the study say this probably isn’t cause for concern, because these rats were exposed to more radiation than the heaviest smartphone users ever would be.

WATCH: New study released on cellphones and cancer rates

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New study released on cellphones and cancer rates

The study, which was conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), was compiled by studying 3,000 mice and rats exposed to wide variety of cell phone radiation levels.

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The lead scientist who conducted the study, John Buckner, told NBC that the results of the study are not concerning and also said he hasn’t made any changes to his own cell phone usage as a result of the findings.

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“I think the reports don’t go much further than what we reported earlier, and I have not changed the way I use a cellphone, no,” said Bucher. “No, I have not recommended changes to my children.”

WATCH: New guidelines warn of sleeping with cellphones near your head

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New guidelines warn of sleeping with cellphones near your head

The question of whether cellphones cause cancer has been hotly debated for years. It seems, however, that scientists are one step closer to finding an answer once and for all.

Following the release of the NTP study, the FDA Director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Jeffrey Shuren, issued a statement expressing confidence that the current regulations around cellphone radiation are sufficient to protect the health of their users.

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“I want to underscore that based on our ongoing evaluation of this issue and taking into account all available scientific evidence we have received, we have not found sufficient evidence that there are adverse health effects in humans caused by exposures at, or under the current radio-frequency energy exposure limits,” said Shuren.

He added that despite the widespread and daily use of mobile phones, detection of tumors has not risen.

“Even with frequent daily use by the vast majority of adults, we have not seen an increase in events like brain tumors. Based on this current information, we believe the current safety limits for cell phones are acceptable for protecting the public health.”

However, given that the exposure to cellphone radiation did in fact cause cancer in mice and rats, Shuren stated that careful discussions on these conclusions still needed to occur. ​

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