Study to probe mobile health risk

It will last between 20 and 30 years and aims to provide definitive answers on the health impacts of mobile phones. Research to date has shown no ill effect, but scientists say those studies may be too short to detect longer term cancers and other diseases. The study is known as Cosmos - the cohort study on mobile communications. It is being funded in the UK by the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme, an independent body, for an initial five year period.

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A member of that group, Professor Lawrie Challis, said the study was crucial. "We still cannot rule out the possibility that mobile phone use causes cancer. The balance of evidence suggests that it does not, but we need to be sure."