Questions and answers concerning applicability of proteomics and transcriptomics in EMF research

The applicability of high-throughput screening techniques of transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics in the search for biological and health effects of electromagnetic fields is a hotly debated issue. On the one hand, use of these modern screening technologies speeds up the discovery process and gives broader insight into biochemical events that follow the exposure to electromagnetic fields. On the other hand these modern screening technologies have the problem of reproducibility and variability between experiments and are prone to produce false positive results. These and other issues concerning the applicability of modern screening technologies were the topic of a workshop held at STUK in 2005 (30 October to 1 November) in Helsinki, Finland, and this Report summarizes the discussions at this workshop.