Can WiFi Wilt Your Plants?

A high school experiment suggests that wireless connectivity is harmful to seedlings.

19:07 10 April 2017

A study conducted by Danish high school students suggests that wireless connectivity is harmful to seedlings.

 

In their biology project, five 9th grade girls took and placed 400 cress seeds into 12 trays that were later placed in two rooms at the same temperature. All the trays were given same amount of water and sun over 12 days but half of them were exposed to mobile radiation. Cress seeds next to the router did not grow and some of them were even mutated or dead.

 

The study, which was first appeared in 2013, has spawned many versions popping up as “new news” with experts contesting its results. A 2013 meta-study said that while the research showed mixed results, there was little to cause immediate concern and suggested more research on the topic. It read: “The last of an apparent biophysical mechanism of interaction and the generally negative results of other studies using RF exposures at similar levels as WiFi provide no basis to anticipate that WiFi exposure will cause any biological effects.

 

Meanwhile, the Guardian agreed with the researchers saying that the heat generated by routers could be a possible plant growth inhibitor and observed that the students did not rule out other causes for sleep disruption near mobile phones.