# WEB-048 — 100 and 290 GHz: changes in cell-membrane fluidity

Why this matters
A membrane’s physical state affects how it works. This recent experiment measured that state during exposure and compared results at calibrated temperatures. It gives higher-frequency research a concrete cellular endpoint, while leaving the health significance and relevance of the experimental temperatures unresolved.

Id: WEB-048

Author: Hoshina

Full Authors: Hiromichi Hoshina

Year: 2025

Title: Order-disorder phase transition of cell membrane induced by THz irradiation

Journal: Scientific reports

Citation: Hiromichi Hoshina. Order-disorder phase transition of cell membrane induced by THz irradiation. Scientific reports. 2025. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-99475-x.

Doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-99475-x

Pmid: 40301493

Topic: Sub-terahertz biological responses; Membrane fluidity; Temperature-dependent cellular susceptibility

Verification Group: Original text reviewed

Record Role: Original text reviewed

Featured: False

Exposure: Continuous 100, 290 and 480 GHz; respective densities 89, 65 and 20 mW/cm²; temperature-calibrated fluorescence measurements.

Design: Living HeLa cells; fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and Laurdan imaging; unexposed temperature comparisons.

Finding: Membrane diffusion increased under 100/290 GHz exposure below 36°C; fluorescence shifts supported altered lipid ordering. 480 GHz showed no significant diffusion change.

Statistics: See the original results; effect sizes were not independently recalculated.

Boundary: Measured heating of approximately 2.3–3.0°C required calibration. Response was temperature-dependent; no clinical injury demonstrated. 480 GHz is outside the 90–300 GHz research track.

Related: Separate Japanese membrane-physics group; a frequency-specific experiment, not a test of a final 6G system.

Protection Question: Which exposure conditions reproduce this finding, and what would establish its relevance beyond the experimental model?

Access: Original methods/results and interpretation reviewed; raw data and supplements were not independently audited.

Locator: Original methods and results

Notice: Linked Europe PMC/PubMed notice fields checked 21 October 2026; no correction/retraction surfaced for this record. Publisher/citation screening is not exhaustive.

Funding: Reported funder(s): http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001691 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Grant identifiers: 22K18992.

Conflicts: See original disclosure; no independently verified conflict assessment.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99475-x

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99475-x | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40301493/ | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12041452/

Verification Date: 2026-10-21

Discovery Id: TARGETED-20261021-21

Technology Tracks: 6g

Technology Connection: Higher-frequency laboratory biology relevant to investigating proposed future bands; not a test of a final 6G standard. This paper also retains a 480 GHz comparison outside the 90–300 GHz track.

Publication Type: Original journal research

Study Setting: Cells / isolated tissue

Browse Categories: cells