Skip to main content

Coronavirus: Scientists brand 5G claims 'complete rubbish'


Woman using mobile phoneImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Conspiracy theories claiming 5G technology helps transmit coronavirus have been condemned by the scientific community.
Videos have been shared on social media showing mobile phone masts on fire in Birmingham and Merseyside - along with the claims.
The posts have been shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram - including by verified accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.
But scientists say the idea of a connection between Covid-19 and 5G is "complete rubbish" and biologically impossible.
The conspiracy theories have been branded "the worst kind of fake news" by NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis.

Conspiracy theory

Many of those sharing the post are pushing a conspiracy theory falsely claiming that 5G - which is used in mobile phone networks and relies on signals carried by radio waves - is somehow responsible for coronavirus.
These theories appear to have first emerged via Facebook posts in late January, around the same time the first cases were recorded in the US.
They appear to fall broadly in to two camps:
  • One claims 5G can suppress the immune system, thus making people more susceptible to catching the virus.
  • The other suggests the virus can somehow be transmitted through the use of 5G technology.
Both these notions are "complete rubbish," says Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading.
mobile networkImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionMasts caught fire in Birmingham and Merseyside, prompting investigations
"The idea that 5G lowers your immune system doesn't stand up to scrutiny," Dr Clarke says.
"Your immune system can be dipped by all sorts of thing - by being tired one day, or not having a good diet. Those fluctuations aren't huge but can make you more susceptible to catching viruses."
While very strong radio waves can cause heating, 5G is nowhere near strong enough to heat people up enough to have any meaningful effect.
"Radio waves can disrupt your physiology as they heat you up, meaning your immune system can't function. But [the energy levels from] 5G radio waves are tiny and they are nowhere near strong enough to affect the immune system. There have been lots of studies on this."
Graphic shows 5G's frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum - within the non-ionising band at the lower end of the scale.
The radio waves involved in 5G and other mobile phone technology sit on the low frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Less powerful than visible light, they are not strong enough to damage cells - unlike radiation at the higher frequency end of the spectrum which includes the sun's rays and medical x-rays.
It would also be impossible for 5G to transmit the virus, Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, adds.
"The present epidemic is caused by a virus that is passed from one infected person to another. We know this is true. We even have the virus growing in our lab, obtained from a person with the illness. Viruses and electromagnetic waves that make mobile phones and internet connections work are different things. As different as chalk and cheese," he says.
It's also important to note another major flaw with the conspiracy theories - coronavirus is spreading in UK cities where 5G has yet to be deployed, and in countries like Iran that have yet to roll out the technology.
There were plenty of scare stories about 5G circulating before the coronavirus outbreak which Reality Check has already looked into, such as this piece: Does 5G pose health risks?
Earlier this year, a long-running study from the watchdog the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) rebutted these claims, saying there was no evidence that mobile networks cause cancer or other illnesses.
Coronavirus: What you need to know graphic featuring three key points: wash your hands for 20 seconds; use a tissue for coughs; avoid touching your face
But if anything, the misinformation seems to have escalated.
Trade body Mobile UK has said false rumours and theories linking 5G and coronavirus were "concerning," while the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has reiterated there is "absolutely no credible evidence for the link".
Viruses invade human or animal cells and use them to reproduce, which is what causes infection. Viruses cannot live very long outside a living thing, so they have to find a way in - usually via droplets of liquid from coughs or sneezes.
Genome sequencing of this coronavirus suggests it jumped from animals to humans - and then began to pass from human to human

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

OBi Cubana Clears The Air On Those criticizing Him And Calling Him Ritualist

  Obi Cubana Has This to Say About His Critics    "I want to state this clearly, I am not the talking type or Social media interest-free person" "Many have questioned the type of boys and friends I have, to me, I hardly address anyone as my boy because we are all boys to God Almighty.  I don't have any boy who is into rituals, if you are my boy or my man because I like to address my boys as my men, it means you are working hard and you purely made your money.  In 2013, I pushed 53 uneducated Oba boys into the market to learn to trade. In 2017, I withdrew all of them from their Ogas and settled all of them with 3million Naira each and paid for their shops.  I linked 40 of them into importation and made them use my name and platform to import goods into the country. After two years, I checked on them how they were doing and find out some had issues and I supported them again to stand.  I am happy today that out of the 53 men, 38 are billionaires while th...

Knockout competition would decide all-island champions under proposed format

Hope Apr 30, 2020 The backers of the proposed All-Island League have decided on the proposed format for the initiative which would see all-island champions crowned through a knockout competition. This would happen at the end of a split season where the League of Ireland and Irish League would retain independence by declaring their own champions. The group has conceded however that the Covid-19 crisis could impact on the financial projections and sponsorship potential that was used to sell the project to clubs across the island. Kerry businessman Kieran Lucid has driven the plan to merge the leagues north and south and has been involved in a lengthy consultation with clubs and other stakeholders that was then guided by Dutch experts Hybercube and their assessment of data provided to them. "The study has shown that there is large upward potential for the game on the island, and this format would give the game a significant lift," the All-Island League Advoc...

New discovery shows human cells can write RNA sequences into DNA

  Date: June 25, 2021 Source: Thomas Jefferson University Summary: In a discovery that challenges long-held dogma in biology, researchers show that mammalian cells can convert RNA sequences back into DNA, a feat more common in viruses than eukaryotic cells. Cells contain machinery that duplicates DNA into a new set that goes into a newly formed cell. That same class of machines, called polymerases, also build RNA messages, which are like notes copied from the central DNA repository of recipes, so they can be read more efficiently into proteins. But polymerases were thought to only work in one direction DNA into DNA or RNA. This prevents RNA messages from being rewritten back into the master recipe book of genomic DNA. Now, Thomas Jefferson University researchers provide the first evidence that RNA segments can be written back into DNA, which potentially challenges the central dogma in biology and could have wide implications affecting many fields of biology. This work opens the doo...