Deep Space Travel Can Be Harmful To The Brain Due To Cosmic Radiation

ISS View of an Aurora Caused By A Geomagnetic Storm From The Sun

Study shows that exposure to galactic cosmic radiation from deep space travel can cause harmful biological processes and changes to the brain such as cognitive impairments and Alzheimer's disease.

Outer space is not as serene as it looks. It is full of radiation. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun can cause rapid sunburn and skin cancer. During solar flare activity, x-rays, gamma-rays, and energetic particles that can cause radiation sickness are ejected from the Sun and shot into space.

Without proper protection such as UV protection and a solar flare shelter, astronauts would be in constant danger.

Aside from the Sun, there is also radiation from outer space. These are produced from exploding stars and other objects, and unlike radiation from the Sun (which usually peaks during solar flares and storms), cosmic radiation is constant and continuous.

On a side note, the comic book Fantastic Four, chronicles the adventures of four superheroes who gained superpowers through cosmic ray exposure in outer space. The Fantastic Four experienced changes that granted them superhuman ability from the exposure to the radiation.

Nothing can be further from the truth. In reality, the effects on real life astronauts may be the opposite.

Previous NASA studies have shown that cosmic radiation increases the risk of cancer and that according to their estimates, for every week of exposure in a cosmic ray environment will shorten life expectancy by about a day (more if cancer sets in).

This sets up a problem when planning deep space missions, specially to Mars. Scientists are busy trying to study what other effects cosmic rays have on the human body in deep space travel and how to mitigate these.

Extracting Nuclear Grade Uranium From Seawater Receives Big Boost From Emerging Technology

Uraninite

Uranium is a silvery white metallic element. It is a chemical element found in the actinide series of the periodic table. Uranium has the chemical symbol U and the atomic number 92.

It has 92 protons and 92 electrons. Six of these electrons are valence electrons. Valence electrons are electrons of an atom that can participate in the formation of chemical bonds with other atoms

Uranium occurs naturally in soil, rock, and water at low concentrations of a few parts per million. For commercial purposes, uranium is extracted from minerals such as uraninite (also known as pitchblende). Uraninite is a uranium-rich mineral and ore that is the major source for uranium.

Advances in decades-old dream of mining seawater for uranium

Scientists today reported progress toward a 40-year-old dream of extracting uranium for nuclear power from seawater, which holds at least 4 billion tons of the precious material. They described some of the most promising technology and an economic analysis showing uranium from the oceans could help solidify nuclear energy potential as a sustainable electricity source for the 21st century. Their reports were part of a symposium at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, being held here through Thursday.

"Estimates indicate that the oceans are a mother lode of uranium, with far more uranium dissolved in seawater than in all the known terrestrial deposits that can be mined," said Robin D. Rogers, Ph.D., who organized the symposium and presented his own technology. "The difficulty has always been that the concentration is just very, very low, making the cost of extraction high. But we are gaining on that challenge."

Erich Schneider, Ph.D., another speaker at the symposium, discussed an economic analysis done for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) comparing seawater extraction of uranium to traditional ore mining. It shows that DOE-funded technology now can extract about twice as much uranium from seawater as the first approaches, developed in Japan in the late 1990s.

Nanotechnology Develops Cheaper and More Effective Radiation Detectors

A radiation detector is a device that is used to detect, track and/or identify high-energy particles. High energy particles are particles produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a particle accelerator.

Detectors are also used to measure the energy of the radiation as well as other attributes such as momentum, spin, charge etc. of the particles. These detectors are used primarily for physics research.

Radiation detectors are also used for practical purposes such as in surveying for minerals, monitoring radioactive areas and places, inspect objects, or to detect nuclear weapons.

Colorful light at the end of the tunnel for radiation detection

A team of nanomaterials researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new technique for radiation detection that could make radiation detection in cargo and baggage more effective and less costly for homeland security inspectors.

Known as spectral shape discrimination (SSD), the method takes advantage of a new class of nanoporous materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Researchers discovered that adding a doping agent to an MOF leads to the emission of red and blue light when the MOF interacts with high-energy particles emanated from radiological or nuclear material, enabling more effective detection of neutrons. Neutron detection is currently a costly and technically challenging endeavor due to the difficulty in distinguishing neutrons from ubiquitous background gamma rays.

Crystals of a metal organic framework (left) emit light in the blue (middle) when exposed to ionizing radiation. Infiltrating them with an organometallic compound causes the crystals to emit red light as well (right), creating a new way to differentiate fission neutrons from background gamma particles.
Credit: Sandia National Laboratories

Initial work on the use of MOFs for radiation detection was internally funded by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program, but subsequent funding for the project has come from the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation research office.

High Sun Exposure Lowers Risk For Pancreatic Cancer

The pancreas is an elongated, tapered gland that is located behind the stomach and secretes digestive enzymes and the hormones insulin and glucagon.

Pancreatic cancer is known as the silent killer. Early stages of this disease does not cause any symptoms and the middle stage symptoms are usually varied and not specific. Only until the disease has far advanced that it is diagnosed.

The disease garnered public attention when Dirty Dancing actor Patrick Swayze and Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs both suffered pancreatic cancer.

The pancreas is a large organ found behind the stomach. It is somewhat shaped like a fish and has an orange-yellow color. The pancreas makes and releases enzymes that help the body absorb food.

The pancreas also produces insulin and glucagon which help control the body's blood sugar levels. As such, people who are diagnosed with diabetes have a higher risk of getting pancreatic cancer than others.

It is unknown what causes pancreatic cancer but some people are more susceptible and at risk to this than others. These are:

• Diabetics
• Smokers
• Elderly people (women are slightly more at risk than men)
• People with chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)

Sun exposure and sun-sensitive skin type decreased risk for pancreatic cancer

High levels of ultraviolet radiation at an individual's birth location, sun-sensitive skin type and a history of skin cancer each decreased risk for pancreatic cancer, according to study results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference, held here June 18-21.

Rachel Neale, Ph.D., principal investigator at Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Queensland, Australia, presented the results of a population-based, case-control study that adds to the already conflicting data about sun exposure, vitamin D gained from sun exposure and cancer risk.

"Several ecological studies, including one conducted in Australia, have suggested that people living in areas with high sun exposure have lower risk for pancreatic cancer," Neale said. "However, some studies of circulating vitamin D indicate that people with high vitamin D are at increased risk, and one study of vitamin D intake supports this increased risk."