After all the concern over possible damage to health from using mobile phones, scientists have found a potential benefit from radiation.

在经历使用手机可能对身体导致的种种伤害之后，科学家终于发现了手机辐射一个潜在的益处。

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Mice were exposed to signals from a centrally-located antenna

Their work has been carried out on mice, but it suggests mobiles might protect against Alzheimer's.

Florida scientists found that phone radiation actually protected the memories of mice programmed to get Alzheimer's disease.

They are now testing more frequencies to see if they can get better results.

The study by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre is published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Genetically² altered mice

It involved 96 mice, most of which had been genetically altered to develop beta-amyloid淀粉体 plaques³版块，磁片 in their brains, which are a marker of Alzheimer's disease, as they aged⁴.

The rest of the mice were non-demented.

All the mice were exposed to the electro-magnetic field generated by a standard phone for two one-hour periods each day for seven to nine months.

Their cages were arranged at the same distance around a centrally located antenna天线，触角 generating the phone signal.

The researchers, led by Professor Gary Arendash, said that if the phone exposure was started when the Alzheimer's mice were young adults, before signs of memory impairment损伤，损害 were apparent, their cognitive⁵ ability认知能力 was protected.

In fact, the Alzheimer's mice performed as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without dementia痴呆.

If older Alzheimer's mice already showing memory problems were exposed to the electro-magnetic waves, their memory impairment disappeared.

Professor Arendash was the author of a previous study that said coffee could protect against Alzheimer's.

He said: "It will take some time to determine the exact mechanisms⁶ involved in these beneficial memory effects.

"One thing is clear, however - the cognitive benefits of long-term electro-magnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both protection and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer's mice, as well as in normal mice."