Mobile Phone Radiation and Rouleaux Formation (Red Blood Cell Clumping): A Potential Serious Health Threat to Most People on the Planet Today! By Brian Simpson
A recent study published in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development on April 23, 2025, claims that exposure to mobile phone/cellphone radiation for just five minutes can induce rouleaux formation—an abnormal clumping of red blood cells resembling stacked coins—in a healthy individual. This finding, led by Dr. Robert Brown of the Environmental Health Trust (EHT), has sparked debate about the safety of wireless devices. Below, I summarise the study, explore its implications, and review related research that support the claims. This is relevant given that today almost everyone, except me, uses a mobile phone, and has it next to their brain for long durations. If this is a health issue it is important to know this, just as relevant as economics and political issues.
The Study: Key Findings and Methodology
The study, conducted by Dr. Robert Brown and ultrasound technologist Barbara Biebrich, focused on a 62-year-old asymptomatic woman with no history of allergies, blood disorders, or systemic diseases. Using ultrasound imaging, the researchers examined blood flow in the woman's popliteal vein (behind the knee) before and after exposure to an idle Apple iPhone XR connected to AT&T's network with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular antennas active but not in use for calls or texts.
Experimental Design
1.Baseline Scan: An initial ultrasound confirmed normal blood flow with no rouleaux formation.
2.Exposure: The cellphone was placed directly on the back of the woman's knee for five minutes. In a later variation, it was held one inch away from her skin.
3.Post-Exposure Scan: A second ultrasound was performed immediately after exposure.
4.Repetition: The experiment was repeated multiple times over three months, consistently showing rouleaux formation post-exposure. In one instance, pre-exposure rouleaux was observed, which the participant attributed to keeping her phone in her pocket prior to the scan.
Key Results
After five minutes of exposure, ultrasound images revealed rouleaux formation in the popliteal vein, even when the phone was held an inch away.
The study suggests that cellphone radiation's effects penetrate deeper than the skin, challenging the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) safety limits, which assume harm only occurs at thermal levels.
Brown hypothesises that rouleaux formation could contribute to health issues like hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and strokes, particularly in younger populations, due to impaired gas exchange and increased blood viscosity. However, he notes that the health impacts of rouleaux are not fully understood.
Earlier Publication
The researchers first published related findings in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine on February 10, 2025, focusing on ultrasound evidence of rouleaux formation but omitting the one-inch distance experiment. The April study restates much of the February report, targeting a broader environmental science audience, while the Frontiers article was aimed at medical professionals.
Supporting Material and Contextual Research
Several studies and sources provide context for the claims about mobile phone/cellphone radiation and biological effects, particularly on blood cells. Below is a summary of relevant findings:
Prior Studies on Rouleaux Formation and Radiation
2015 Weston A. Price Foundation Study: This study examined blood samples from ten subjects exposed to cellphone radiation under two conditions: carrying the phone (e.g., in a pocket) and active use (e.g., during calls). Nine out of ten subjects showed blood changes, including rouleaux formation and misshapen red blood cells (e.g., echinocytes), after exposure. The study used dark-field microscopy and a Likert scale to score blood factors, finding no correlation between diet and susceptibility to these changes. Notably, the study relied on in vitro blood samples, which are prone to artifacts, unlike Brown's in vivo ultrasound approach.
In Vitro Research: Earlier studies on rouleaux formation due to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) used live blood cell analysis with dark-field microscopy, a method criticised for potential misinterpretation or sample preparation errors. Brown's use of ultrasound avoids these artifacts, offering a real-time, in vivo perspective.
Broader Research on RFR Health Effects
Cell Tower Radiation and Blood Damage: A 2017 study found that people living within 80 metres of cell towers had increased blood damage compared to those living over 300 metres away, suggesting RFR may cause genotoxic effects.
Chromosomal Aberrations: A 2024 study linked higher RFR exposure from cell towers to increased chromosomal aberrations in blood, indicating permanent genotoxic damage.
National Toxicology Program (NTP) Study: A 2016 NTP study found "high certainty" evidence of increased brain and heart tumours in rats exposed to cellphone radiation, prompting calls for the World Health Organization to classify RFR as a known human carcinogen.
Wireless Radiation and Cellular Effects: A 2023 study in Biomedicines reported that human cells exposed to 2.45 GHz wireless frequencies (common in Wi-Fi) showed increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting non-thermal biological effects.
Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability: Research from 2023 indicates that RFR can increase blood-brain barrier permeability, potentially leading to neurodegenerative diseases.
Expert Opinions
Dr. Devra Davis (EHT): As EHT's founder, Davis emphasises that the rouleaux finding should prompt caution about keeping phones close to the body, aligning with EHT's broader advocacy for stricter RFR safety standards.
Dr. Robert Brown: Brown argues that the study's ultrasound evidence provides a "visible manifestation" of non-thermal biological effects, challenging FCC guidelines and urging the medical community to investigate further.
Critical Analysis and Limitations
While the study raises intriguing questions, several limitations warrant scrutiny:
Sample Size: The experiment involved only one participant, limiting generalisability. Brown acknowledges this, stating plans for a larger study to assess prevalence in the general population.
Lack of Control Variables: The study does not specify controls for confounding factors, such as the participant's hydration status, physical activity, or environmental exposures, which can influence blood viscosity and rouleaux formation.
Frequency Specificity: The study did not clarify which cellphone radiation frequencies (e.g., 4G, 5G, or Wi-Fi) caused the effect, noting only that the phone was idle but engaged in "handshaking" with cell towers. This limits the ability to pinpoint the exact mechanism.
Health Impact Uncertainty: While Brown speculates that rouleaux could contribute to diseases like hypertension or strokes, the study provides no direct evidence linking rouleaux to these outcomes. Rouleaux formation is often temporary in healthy individuals and can occur in various conditions (e.g., infections, inflammation), per MyHematology.com.
Implications and Broader Context
The study's claim that mobile phone/cellphone radiation induces rouleaux formation challenges the FCC's thermal-based safety standards, aligning with a growing body of research suggesting non-thermal effects of RFR. Posts on X reflect public concern, with users urging precautions like avoiding pocket storage or using headsets. If validated, the findings could push regulators to revisit RFR exposure limits, particularly for vulnerable populations like children, whose thinner skulls may allow deeper radiation penetration.
Recommendations and Next Steps
Brown and EHT plan a larger study to assess rouleaux formation's prevalence, leveraging ultrasound's accessibility for replication. In the meantime, EHT suggests practical steps to reduce RFR exposure:
Avoid carrying phones in pockets or bras.
Use speakerphone or wired headsets.
Enable airplane mode when not in use.
Conclusion
The Brown et al. study provides preliminary evidence that mobile phone/cellphone radiation may induce rouleaux formation in vivo, supported by ultrasound imaging and consistent with earlier in vitro findings. Related research on RFR's effects on blood, DNA, and cellular function lends plausibility to the claim that non-thermal radiation has biological impacts. If the study done with larger population proves to be correct, there could be major health implications for most people on the planet today.
"A healthy woman's blood cells formed abnormal clumps after just five minutes of having an idle cellphone placed on her leg. The same thing happened when researchers held the cellphone an inch away from the woman's body, according to a peer-reviewed study published April 23 in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development.
Using ultrasound, the researchers showed that the woman's blood cells developed a rouleaux formation, an abnormal red blood cell pattern in which the cells stack together in long rows like piles of coins, according to MyHematology.com.
Dr. Robert Brown, the study's author, said that although the impact of rouleaux formation on health is not well understood, it's "not without potential health consequences."
Brown is a diagnostic radiologist with more than 30 years of experience and the vice president of Scientific Research and Clinical Affairs for the Environmental Health Trust (EHT). He said:
"Because of the impact on gas exchange and increased blood viscosity due to clumping, it is possible rouleaux could account for the unusual uptick in once-uncommon disease processes and disorders increasing in our society over the past few decades, including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, strokes, particularly in the younger population, and others."
According to Brown, the study is key to educating the medical community on how wireless radiation affects a person's biological functioning.
"If we want to see a change in government regulations and a decrease in the indiscriminate usage of wireless technology, the allopathic medical community needs to become knowledgeable of the health effects of wireless communication radiation," Brown said. "I believe this study has cracked the proverbial egg."
Devra Davis, Ph.D., MPH, a toxicologist and epidemiologist who is founder and president emerita of the EHT, said, "This finding of clumping in the blood after only five minutes of direct cellphone exposure should give pause to all who keep phones close to their bodies."
The EHT is a nonprofit research and education group focused on the effects of wireless radiation.
Researchers repeated the experiment several times
For the data in this study, Brown and his colleague, Barbara Biebrich, an ultrasound technologist, did an initial experiment including an ultrasound scan of the leg vein of a 62-year-old asymptomatic woman with no history of allergy, blood disorder or systemic disease.
Next, they placed an idle Apple iPhone XR cellphone on the back of her knee for five minutes. The phone was connected to AT&T's mobile network with its Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular antennas turned on. However, the phone didn't make calls or send texts, or receive calls or texts, while placed on the back of her knee.
After five minutes, the researchers did another ultrasound. The second ultrasound showed that cellphone radiation caused the blood cells in the woman's popliteal vein, located behind the knee, to clump in rouleaux formation.
Brown and Biebrich repeated their experiment with the same woman multiple times over three months. "Each time, we encountered the same results," Brown wrote.
On one occasion, the woman's blood cells were already in rouleaux formation before having the cellphone placed on her knee for five minutes.
"Although we were initially perplexed," Brown wrote, "I asked the participant where she had kept her cellphone just before the scan, and she replied that it had been in her pocket."
The researchers also altered the experiment by placing the cellphone an inch away from the woman's skin, rather than placing it directly on her body. Again, they waited five minutes.
"She went into rouleaux, even with the cellphone exposure an inch away," Brown wrote.
"By demonstrating rouleaux in a deep leg vein, the study confirms that the penetration and associated physiological effects of wireless radiation are not limited to the first few millimeters of skin, but do, in fact, occur deeper in the body," Brown said.
This finding has "significant implications for safety," he said.
The Federal Communications Commission's safety exposure limits for wireless radiation are based on the assumption that the radiation can harm human health only at levels high enough to heat human tissue. Cellphones emit radiation at levels lower than that.
Many scientists, including Brown, say there's evidence that non-thermal levels of wireless radiation may negatively affect human biology.
The study provides a "visible manifestation" that cellphone radiation at non-thermal levels has biological effects.
The study didn't clarify what specific range of cellphone radiation frequencies, such as 4G or 5G, caused the blood to clump.
The cellphone was idle and not actively engaging a 4G or 5G network, beyond the usual "handshaking" communication that cellphones do with cell towers, Brown said.
'I am quite certain our subject is not a unicorn'
In the experiment report, the researchers said they are planning a larger study to assess how prevalent cellphone radiation-induced rouleaux formation may be among the general population.
"Although the incidence of rouleaux formation following cellphone exposure is unknown, I am quite certain our subject is not a unicorn," Brown said.
Ultrasound imaging is relatively inexpensive and popular, so it should be easy for other researchers to do follow-up studies, too, he added.
The researchers first published some of their results from using ultrasound to show that cellphone radiation induces abnormal blood clumping in a Feb. 10 peer-reviewed article in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.
The April study in the Environment journal restates much of the February report in Frontiers. However, the report in Frontiers did not include the results from holding the cellphone an inch away from the woman's body because the researchers had not yet done that experiment.
Both reports are important because they target different audiences, according to Brown.
The Frontiers journal is a resource for the physician community, particularly cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons, Brown explained. The Environment journal is geared for the "much broader environmental science community," he said."
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