Do cell phones cause cancer?

Twenty or so years ago, when cell phones adoption started to pick up rapidly, there was a lot of fear about potential negative health effects. In particular, the impact of mobile phone radiation was an area of concern, as there was a scare that it could result in a big uptick in brain cancer or other head tumors.

Over the last decade, these concerns have been pushed to the background. On one hand, smartphones have become a cyborg-like extension of our body, and on the the hand scientists have not been able to find conclusive evidence that the radio-frequency energy of cell phones is carcinogenic.

If you're still worried about cell phones, the California Department of Public Health has some new guidelines to reduce the risk. These were released on Friday:

Using headphones or the speakerphone setting instead of holding your phone to your ear;

Use texts instead of talking;

Carrying your phone in a bag or backpack rather than a pocket or your clothes;

Avoiding phone use when its sending high levels of radio-frequency energy, such as when you’re in a car, streaming content, or when your signal is weak;

And not keeping your phone by your head while you sleep.

But as ARS Technica points out, there's still no scientific data to suggest these concerns are warranted.