Part Ⅱ Cloze For years, scientists have been warning us that the radiation from mobile phones is detrimental to our health, without actually having any evidence to back these 1 up. However research now suggests that mobile phone radiation has at least one positive side effect: it can help prevent Alzheimer's, 2 in the mice that acted as test subjects. It's been suspected, though never proven, that heavy use of mobile phone is bad for your health. It's thought that walking around with a cellphone permanently attached to the side of your head is almost sure to be 3 your brain. And that may well be true, but I'd rather wait until it's proven before giving up that part of my daily life. But what has now been proven, in a very perfunctory manner, is that mobile phone radiation can have an effect on your brain. 4 in this case it was a positive rather than negative effect. According to BBC News, the Florida Alzheimer Disease Research Center conducted a study on 96 mice to see if the radiation given off by mobile phone could affect the onset of Alzheimer's. Some of the mice were "genetically altered to develop beta-amyloid plagues in their brains" 5 they aged. These are a marker of Alzheimer's. All 96 mice were then "exposed to the lector-magnetic 6 generated by a standard phone for two one-hour periods each day for seven to nine months." The lucky things. 7 , the experiment showed that the mice altered to be predisposed to dementia were protected from the disease if exposed before the onset of the illness. Their cognitive abilities were so unimpaired as to be virtually 8 to the mice not genetically altered in any way. Unfortunately, although the results are positive, the scientists don't actually know why exposed to mobile phone radiation has this effect. But it's hoped that further study and testing could result in a non-invasive 9 for preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease. Autopsies carried out on the mice also concluded no ill-effects of their exposure to the radiation. However the fact that the radiation prevented Alzheimer's means mobile phones 10 out brains and bodies in ways not yet explored. And it's sure there are negatives as well as this one positive.
What draws my firm's attention is the design of cities. When we designed America's first "green" office building two decades ago, we felt very 11 . But today, the idea that buildings can be good for people and the environment will be increasingly influential in years to come. Back in 1984 we discovered that most manufactured products for decoration weren't designed for 12 uses. The "energy-efficient" buildings constructed after the 1970s energy crisis revealed indoor air quality problems caused by materials such as paints and carpet. So, we've been focusing on these materials 13 to the molecules, looking for ways to make them safe for people and the planet. Home builders can now use materials that don't 14 the quality of the air, water, or soil. 15 our basic design strategy is focused not simply on being "less bad", but on creating completely healthful materials that can be either safely returned to the soil 16 reused by industry again. In fact, the world's largest manufacturer has already 17 a fully and safely recyclable carpet. No one 18 to create a building that destroys the planet. But our current industrial systems are inevitably causing these conditions. So 19 simply trying to reduce the damage, we are adopting a positive approach. We're giving people healthful products and an opportunity to make choices that have a 20 effect on the world. It's not just the building industry. Entire cities are taking these environmentally positive approaches to design, planning and building.