Preface
Electric and magnetic fields can affect biological systems in ways that are
not yet fully appreciated. Of particular interest during the past decade have
been the possible effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic
fields on humans. The debate concerning possible health consequences from
the increasing worldwide exposure to ELF electromagnetic fields has
waxed and waned， and has often been driven by epidemiological studies
in an area in which few relevant laboratory data have been available.
Beneficial effects of ELF field exposure， such as enhanced bone fracture
healing， have been reported and are now well documented in the literature.
Public attention， however， has focused on the less well documented
detrimental effects and associated uncertainties. As one result of the re-
cent public awareness of the ELF question， the quality of epidemiological
studies and laboratory research has improved. In the past few years， much
insight into ELF bioeffects and their possible mechanisms has been gained.
This book is not intended， however， as a general treatment of the sub-
ject of ELF bioeffects. In particular， it does not address questions related
to risk assessment or possible hazards of what we term ELF exposure.
We have elected， rather， to focus on that which seems to be the central
scientific issue emerging from current ELF research in epidemiology and
in the laboratory; namely， can ELF electromagnetic fields interact with
biological systems in such a way as to increase cancer risk? We examine
how cancer risk might be related to two reproducible biological effects of
ELF exposure: effects on the pineal gland and circadian biology， and ef-
fects on calcium homeostasis in cells. Because we are concerned with the
possible biological mechanisms of carcinogenesis， epidemiological studies
are only briefly reviewed.
To accommodate a broad readership， introductory chapters on the var-
ious disciplines relevant to later sections follow the background material
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