Subscribe
Cassius Life Featured Video
CLOSE
Bald commuter listening music while sitting with eyes closed against subway train at railroad station

Source: Maskot / Getty

We’ve all seen the memes over the last few months of anime characters and other pop culture references being photoshopped with waves and Apple’s Air Pods.

The memes were a perfect combination of taking a technological advance and flipping what’s obnoxious about them for entertainment. However, lost in the jokes is a potential health concern that researchers are digging into.

Can wireless earbuds put us at risk for cancer? Well, the answer to this one isn’t simple, as there are researchers and scientists on both sides of the debate.

In a Medium article, a biochemist from the University of Colorado raised the question, saying that Bluetooth headphones can expose tissue in the head to high levels of radio frequency radiation, according to CBS.

“In general, the closer you are to a structure, the more radiation,” says Allegheny Health Network radiation oncologist Dr. Mark Trombetta.

However, Trombetta says that Bluetooth is very low energy and not the kind of radiation that leads to cancer. The risk is low and we rely on it for everything.

“The Bluetooth is all around us. from pacemakers to non-medical applications,” Dr. Trombetta points out. “Our televisions rely on that. So if we could eliminate all risk from the world, we certainly wouldn’t start with these devices because they would be one of the lowest risk things.”

As of right now, it appears that we’re all going to be alright if we continue to use earbuds like the ones Apple offers or the myriad other brands who offer wireless options through Bluetooth.

Read more here.