Abstract

Overview

As millimeter wave (MMW) frequencies become prevalent in modern technologies like mobile communications, understanding their biological impacts is essential for establishing safe exposure levels.

Findings

• Primary human dermal fibroblasts exposed to MMWs show genomic and transcriptomic alterations.
• Specific conditions tested include repeated 60 GHz, 2.6 mW cm-2, 46.8 J cm-2 d-1 MMW doses over 2 and 4 days.
• These high-dose MMWs lead to non-thermal modifications in the transcriptome and DNA structural dynamics, notably forming G-quadruplex and i-motif structures, without causing DNA damage.

Conclusion

High dose MMWs induce unique transcriptomic and genomic modifications in human fibroblasts, unrelated to traditional thermal cellular responses. These findings underline the need to consider both power density and dose in the safety assessments for MMW technology, hinting at complex interactions with biological materials.