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Mis-statement: This article does not distinguish between ionizing radiation, such as cosmic rays, x-rays and that produced by nuclear decay, and non-ionizing radiation from microwave and other longer-than-UV-wavelength electromagnetic radiation (including visible light).

The fact is that if microwave radiation causes brain cancer, it would not be by ionization but by a different biochemical process, perhaps the disruption of normal electrochemical activity in the brain.

Even advocates of taking the precautions stated here, such as Ronald Herberman of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, do so on the "precautionary principal," meaning that there is some suggestive evidence but no clear correlations yet between cell-phone use and brain cancers.

Let me be clear: I am not saying that the precautions do not make sense. But I am always concerned when articles like this overstate the case, because contradictory articles also appear and the general public begins to mistrust science.

For a book that states the evidence realistically and, in fact, advocates the precautionary recommendations of Herberman while noting the limits of the evidence, I recommend AntiCancer by David Servan-Schreiber.

Fred Bortz -- Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)