Does noise from a windmill cause cancer?

We know that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, is not an appreciator of global warming and climate change. But it seems that his ignorance of science has a much deeper root. Recently in a speech, he asserted that 'the noise from a windmill causes cancer'! Let us see how stupid this statement is.

Cancer is a set of complex diseases characterized my the abnormal multiplication of cells. A cell becomes cancerous when some of the specific parts of its DNA sequences change. Such alterations are called mutations (I have discussed this in detail in my previous post The Organic Fraud). For example, there exists a gene in humans named 'tumor suppressor gene' which controls the overgrowth of cells; a mutation of this gene can lead to the loss of function of it and hence lead to tumor growth.

High energy radiation can cause mutation in DNA which may lead to cancer. (That is why exposure to ultraviolet radiation is dangerous). Like all other radiations, sounds also propagate as waves (High energy radiations are electromagnetic waves but sound is vibration of air particles). So, if noise somehow creates DNA mutation, we must agree with Donald Trump, which is indeed not the case. The energy of a sound wave is very less and is incapable of driving any chemical reaction of DNA molecules (Yeah, DNA mutation is a chemical reaction)! That means, no noise regardless of coming from a windmill or siren, will cause any form of cancer.

To follow leaders and to blindly believe them is a peculiarity of our species that helped us in evolution and survival. But in the current society, this characteristic is obsolete and sometimes cause danger too. The problem with stupid statements of world leaders like Trump is nothing but the existence of blind followers who spread the incorrect/toxic information, believing them to be true.

References and Suggested Readings

• Trump Says Wind Turbine Noise Causes Cancer. (It Does Not.) - News
• Mutation and Cancers: "The Organic Fraud"
• Radiation and Cancers: Behjati, Sam, et al. "Mutational signatures of ionizing radiation in second malignancies." Nature communications 7 (2016): 12605.
• Waves and Energy Transfer