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07/12/20 10:15 AM IST

Microwave energy likely made U.S. officials ill

In news

A new report by a National Academy of Sciences committee has found that “directed” microwave radiation is the likely cause of illnesses among American diplomats in Cuba and China.

Background
  • The health effects were experienced by about two dozen Americans affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Cuba as well as Canadian diplomats and personnel at the U.S. consulate in Guanghzhou, China, in early 2017.
  • Some reported hearing high-pitched sounds similar to crickets while at home or staying in hotels, leading to an early theory of a sonic attack.

The report
  • The committee found these cases quite concerning, in part because of the plausible role of directed, pulsed radio-frequency energy as a mechanism, but also because of the significant suffering and debility that has occurred in some of these individuals.
  • The study, however, did not name a source for the energy and did not say it came as the result of an attack
  • The study commissioned by the State Department is the latest attempt to find a cause for the mysterious illnesses that started to emerge in late 2016 among US personnel in Havana.
Microwaves

Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic radiation, as are radio waves, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma-rays. Microwaves have a range of applications, including communications, radar and, perhaps best known by most people, cooking. 

Source: The Hindu



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