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Mutant Diseases could Cripple Missions to Mars, Beyond?

Posted by lovelyeyes on Nov 5, 2009 in Science

 Recent studies shows that Charged moving through space are known as cosmic rays, can mutate the manageable microbes, spurring the bugs to reproduce quicker and become more virulent.

According to a new report published this month in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.Aboard spaceships without advanced medical care, illness could cripple human missions to Mars and beyond,At the same time, exposure to cosmic rays and the stresses of long-term weightlessness can dampen the human immune system, encouraging diseases to take hold.
For the new report, Frippiat and colleagues analyzed more than 150 studies of the effects of space flight on humans, animals, and pathogens.On Earth humans are protected from the effects of cosmic rays, because the particles are deflected by the earth’s magnetic field.Out in space, such protections are not available,and cosmic radiation can cause mutations when it strikes the DNA inside cells. The absence of gravity can also be detrimental to human health, because weightlessness allows structures to shift around within cells.The immune system relies on cell-to-cell interactions for ridding the body of harmful pathogens is particularly vulnerable.
One study, found that astronauts who had recently returned from space had white blood cells that were less effective at seeking out and destroying E. coli bacteria.Left untreated, E. coli can cause severe cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea and kidney and blood-cell damage that can lead to fatal complications.

Gerald Sonnenfeldan immunologist and vice president of research at Binghamton University agreed that keeping astronauts healthy on long-duration missions will be a major challenge for NASA and other space agencies.

Sonnenfeld said “There is a potential for a problem in the immune system to create an issue in a long-term spaceflight, and this must be seriously investigated,”

In the report authors note that using vitamins and compounds to help boost the immune system is one promising avenue for future research.

Millie Hughes-Fulford, an immunologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and a former NASA astronaut said the risks to astronauts could be reduced by shortening the time they have to spend in space.

Hughes-Fulford said NASA is currently experimenting with a so-called plasma drive that could potentially cut the transit time to Mars, for example, down from about nine months to three.

 

 

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Sonnenfeld added that Research into astronaut health was once much more active,But “as space agencies saw that there were really no serious issues on shorter term flights and even longer space station missions, they cut back on the interest and funding,” sonnenfeld said,”

Astronaut health is back on the radar screen now that NASA is considering longer-term missions.”



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