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Brain damage risk to astronauts from radiation

Could deep space cause BRAIN DAMAGE? Radiation could permanently destroy an astronaut’s attention span

• Rats were exposed to radiation levels similar to that found in deep space
• Serious lapses in attention occurred in 64% of the sensitive animals
• Increase in impulsiveness took place in 45% and slower reaction in 27%
• Difference based on a rat’s specific resilience after exposure to radiation
  
• If same proves true in humans, scientists could identify those more susceptible to radiation before the brain becomes permanently damaged
  

Daily Mail, By ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD, 30 April 2014 Researchers came to the conclusion after exposing rats to high-energy particles that simulate the conditions astronauts could experience in deep space.

After exposure, a team at John Hopkins University in Maryland made the rats perform a fitness test similar to the ones astronauts, pilots, and soldiers have to take prior to a mission. …....‘In our radiated rats, we found that 40 to 45 percent had these attention-related deficits, while the rest were seemingly unaffected,’ said study leader Dr Robert Hienz……The radiation-sensitive animals all showed evidence of brain damage that began at 50 to 60 days after exposure…..

Currently, astronauts are not as exposed to the damaging effects of radiation because the International Space Station flies in an orbit low enough that the Earth’s magnetic field continues to provide protection.

But several years ago brain scans of Nasa astronauts who spent more than a month in space revealed damage to their eyeballs and brain tissue.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2616792/Could-deep-space-cause-BRAIN-DAMAGE-Radiation-permanently-destroy-astronauts-attention-span.html#ixzz30Ur2J9NG

May 2, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | radiation, USA