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So far, the released NTP data show a very weak link between excessive cell phone radiation exposure and the risk of developing some cancers. Specifically, male rats that were exposed to full-body doses of radiation for nine hours a day — from before the time they were born until they were just over two years old — were slightly more likely to develop brain and heart cancers than rats not exposed to that radiation.

In other words, they exposed the rats for extremely long periods of time to very high doses of the radiation. This has zero applicability to any real-world use of cell phones. Seriously, how many people cover themselves with cellphones while the phones are transmitting for several hours each day?

The radiation in cell phones is not high enough energy to be ionizing, nor is it in the UV range--so it doesn't damage DNA. Since DNA damage is a direct mechanism for the cancerous changes that occur following radiation exposure, this means that the phones aren't likely to cause cancer through this route. And it is difficult to envision another route for them to cause cancer. Through increasing the kinetic energy of cells--well, any heat source does that, so not very likely.

Cell phones function by receiving and emitting radio waves, which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Just like visible light, except that they are lower energy than visible light. Typically, the radiation that causes severe health effects is higher energy than visible light; EM emissions above visible light, at the UV and higher energies, cause DNA damage.