The Effect of Electromagnetic Fields with the Mg²⁺ Cyclotron Frequency on Mouse Reproductive Performance

Abstract

The present study is aimed to test whether exposure to electromagnetic fields of very weak intensity (≤1 mT) and low frequency (≤100 Hz) may influence reproductive performance and induce teratogenesis in mice. We speculate that a resonant effect occur when the applied frequency matches the cyclotron frequency of Mg 2+ (≈60 Hz) involved in the cell duplication. Four groups of mice (four dams and one male each) were exposed to ? 50 μT electromagnetic field continuous irradiation of for 100 days. A control group (four dams and one male) was also examined. The exposed dams exhibited a significantly lower number of offspring per birth than the control ones (11.0 vs. 11.6; P = 0.006). A significantly lower average daily gain of body weight per mouse was observed (0.74 vs. 0.77 g/d; P = 0.002), resulting in a reduction of the average body weight per nest at 11 days of age (404 vs. 463 g; P = 0.048). Post mortem examinations revealed a significant increase in mild chronic hepatic inflammatory findings (28 vs. 0%; P = 0.001) in the offspring and myocardial hypertrophy (25 vs. 0%; P = 0.023) in the dams. The exposure of mice to an electromagnetic field with the cyclotron frequency of Mg2+ during pregnancy caused a measurable effect on the reproductive performance in terms of offspring per birth. This finding may be considered as a warning about the environmental effects of the electromagnetic fields on the stability of individual species and ecosystems.