Paper on wireless technology and ASDs

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I just got finished reading through quite a long paper examining the various crossovers between exposure to electrical technology and observations in ASD research.

The last section has some very interesting recommendations, particularly that more research be done investigating the possibility that wireless technologies may be desynchronising the timing of cells in our brains and body clocks, leading to the exaggerated sleep disturbances and high stress levels (etc.) in people with ASDs.

It's a very technical read, so have a dictionary handy:

Findings in Autism (ASD) Consistent with Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR)

by

Martha Herbert, PhD, MD Pediatric Neurology TRANSCEND Research Program Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School

So ... to cure ASDs, we must do away with wireless technology, electronic gadgets, and high-voltage electrical distribution ...

... just more Luddite scaremonger tactics. It's like when Vegans claim that ASDs are caused by eating processed meats, or when Christian fundies claim that lack of faith causes ASDs, or when disgruntled Republicans blame "Obamacare" for causing ASDs, or when homeschoolers say that poorly-run public schools are at fault for their children's ASDs, or ...

she says explicitly in the introduction that causation is not implied by her research, and I highly doubt that a PhD researcher publishing for an open-access journal could be fairly called a luddite.

that and I'm a vegan who buys the auto-immune disorder line even though I'll attribute a hell of a lot of public health issues to meat consumption.

I thought the paper was quite interesting, thanks for sharing!

The doctor the wrote the paper does appear to have at least a positive reputation from what I can tell

And here are her conclusions from the paper:

<quote>- Conclusions and Recommendations
1. Change our deployment of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR)
2. Encourage precautions right now based on present knowledge
3. Build an environmentally physiologically centered research program in ASDs as a platform for investigating the EMR/RFR-ASD linkage
4. Take the evidence as a call to action
</quote>

Which I take as clearly over the top. It's not an invitation to more research but a... look at #4. It's seems unusually Final for a research paper - especially something considered so fringe. I don't think the evidence is anywhere near these conclusions.

Whther or not she claims that causation was not implied, it may be so readily inferred that the implication may as well be highlighted.


A Luddite is one who would do away with advances in technology, and make up all kinds of reasons to justify their views - like when Jenny McCarthy wants to do away with immunizations and uses her child's alleged ASD to justify her claim.

A "PhD Researcher" would publish in a peer-review journal instead. "Open-Access Journals" are where conspiracy theorists post their essays to draw attention to their books and their lecturer-for-hire businesses - Link to Martha Herbert's Website.

I don't think that's fair.I know what a Luddite is.there's such thing as a peer-reviewed open-access journal, though this one doesn't look to be that way (and that was the first thing I looked for, and why I did not continue to read.) I'm not saying that what she said is something I believe or is convincing, but let it stand or fall based on the merit of what it actually says and whatever evidence it does or does not provide. it could very well be complete tripe, but your dismissal struck me as rather arbitrary. perhaps it wasn't, but you didn't explain why.

edit: upon reading her bio I doubt I actually agree with her, (autism speaks scientific advisory board), but it's hard to have two Ivy League schools in your CV (in hard science) and be a complete crack-pot. Harvard Medical School is not exactly a Mecca for the tin-foil hat crowd.

I wonder how the electromagnetic radiation we are exposed to when watching tv, playing video games (for those who do that), sitting in front of a computer monitor, or using a microwave oven compares to that emitted by wireless routers.

Didn't read the paper, but there could be something to it.. never know. I just thought this would be funny to post is all: