NASA study shows that traveling on Mars could ruin your gut and cause cancer

Everybody want go into the space.

But before we can go further – and install on planets such as Mars – we need a better understanding of cosmic pathologies and how they can occur.

Researchers at the University Medical Center of Georgetown University (GUMC) in Washington have studied the effects of ionizing radiation on the gastrointestinal tract (GI) in humans to better prepare astronauts to perform long trips in the solar system.

During such missions, astronauts will be exposed to radiation from different sources and, for the moment, there is no effective method to block this radiation.

"With the current protection technology, it's hard to protect astronauts from the damaging effects of heavy ion radiation." While there may be a way to use drugs to counter these effects, no such agent It has not yet been developed, "said Kamal Datta, project manager. chief and senior investigator on the study, in a press release Monday.

The gastrointestinal tract is an excellent candidate for experimentation because the effects of ionizing radiation on biological processes are already well known. In the space of three to five days, the cells of the tract are renewed – new cells divide and replace the old ones. Disruption of this process results in a series of changes, some of which may even lead to tumor formation.

At the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) in New York, scientists have subjected mice to low doses of heavy ion radiation or gamma radiation. By comparing mice to those that were not exposed to any radiation, scientists were able to determine how the gastrointestinal tract could be affected by the dangers of space. After seven days, 60 days or 12 months after exposure, the mice were euthanized and evaluated.

Their results showed that gamma rays had only modest and modest effects on the cells of the small intestine, able to return to normal in 60 days. However, irradiation with heavy ions caused a panoply of changes in these cells, with reduced migration and increased cell proliferation with persistent DNA damage persisting even a year after exposure .

In a second subgroup of mice, euthanized 150 days after a dose of heavy ionic radiation, the research team showed that these alterations of the small intestine might increase the risk of developing tumors.

the poor and helpful mice.

"Although short trips, like those that astronauts have traveled to get to the moon, do not expose them to this level of damage, the real concern is the lasting injury of a long ride, such as a mission on Mars or another mission in the far space that would be much longer, "explained Datta.

To extend our stay in space, it will be essential to better understand the changes that are occurring in human physiology – and how we can combat possible pathologies. Later studies will examine how the precursors to these cells are affected by radiation and hopefully we'll keep it on track to sure the deep space over the next decade.

NASA is 60 years old: the space agency has pushed humanity further than anyone and plans to go further.

Take it to the extreme: mix senseless situations – eruptive volcanic eruptions, nuclear collapses, 30-foot waves – with everyday technology. This is what happens.