Fed2 Star - the newsletter for the space trading game Federation 2

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by ibgames

EARTHDATE: May 10, 2015

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REAL LIFE NEWS: MARTIAN ASTRONAUTS COULD BE BRAIN DAMAGED

by Hazed

Astronauts looking forward to a trip to Mars have one more thing to worry about: the possibility of brain damage.

NASA has funded a study into the effects of long space journeys, and the research has now been published. Scientists at the University of California Irvine bombarded mice with ionised oxygen and titanium nuclei for six weeks, which simulates the particle radiation that would be experienced on a trip to Mars.

The results were very worrying. All the mice showed acute brain inflammation, which changed the way their neurons fired and made them less efficient at transmitting electrochemical signals. As a result, their puzzle-solving skills and memory were hampered.

The effects were similar to those shows by patients who undergo chemotherapy for brain cancer.

“This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two to three-year round trip to Mars,” said Dr Charles Limoli, a professor of radiation oncology in UC Irvine School of Medicine. A bit of an understatement, I’d say!

“Performance decrements, memory deficits, and loss of awareness and focus during spaceflight may affect mission-critical activities, and exposure to these particles may have long-term adverse consequences to cognition throughout life.”

Now a way to protect astronauts from these effects needs to be found, but building a shield would add mass to the ship, which would make it more expensive and increase the amount of fuel needed to get to Mars.

It’s a tricky problem.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/02/astronauts_mars_brain_damage/

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