Broadband, Non-Thermal Millimeter-Wave Influence on Giant Chromosomes

Abstract

A non-thermal influence of low-intensity millimeter-wave radiation on the puffing of giant chromosom es from salivary glands of larvae of the midge A cricotopus lucidus (Diptera, Chironomidae) is reported. The effect is manifested as a strong regression in size of a specific puff that expresses genes for a secretory protein (Fig. 1). While millimeter-wave irradiation leads to an about tenfold increase of the regression probability com pared to controls, simulation of the small microwave-induced temperature increase in the sample does not result in a significant effect, thus confirming the non-thermal nature of the microwave irradiation effect. This finding could be of importance for the understanding of the interaction between microwave radiation and living systems and hence for the establishment of safety standards in that frequency regime.