Connect with us

Science

Anaemia in astronauts could be a challenge for space missions

Published

3 years ago

on

Anaemia in astronauts could be a challenge for space missions

Humanity’s next “giant leap” could be a trip to Mars, but getting enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells for the journey could present challenges, new research suggests.

Even space tourists lining up for short trips may have to stay home if they are at risk for anemia or a lack of red blood cells, the researchers said.

Astronauts have been known to experience “space anemia,” but until now it was considered temporary. A NASA study called it “the 15-day disease.”

Doctors attribute it to the destruction or hemolysis of red blood cells, which is caused by changes in fluids as the astronaut’s body adapts to weightlessness and readjusts to gravity.

Advertisement

In fact, anemia is “the main effect of going to space,” said Dr. Guy Trudell of the University of Ottawa, who led a study of 14 astronauts funded by the Canadian Space Agency. “As long as you’re in space, you destroy more blood cells than you make.”

Normally, the body destroys and replaces nearly 2 million red blood cells every second. Trudell’s team found that astronauts’ bodies destroyed 3 million red blood cells per second during the six-month mission. “We thought we knew about space anemia, but we didn’t,” Trudell said.

Astronauts produced extra red blood cells to compensate for the destroyed red blood cells. But, Trudell asks, how long can the body continue to produce more than 50 percent of its red blood cells? NASA estimates that the mission to and from Mars will take about two years.

“If you’re on your way to Mars…you can’t keep up” with the need to produce all these extra red blood cells, “you could be in serious trouble,” Trudell said.

Advertisement

When your body is weightless, the reduction in red blood cells in space isn’t a problem, he added. But after landing on Earth, and possibly on other planets, anemia could affect astronauts’ energy, stamina and strength.

A year after returning to Earth, the astronauts’ red blood cells had not fully returned to their pre-flight levels, his team reported Friday in the journal Nature Medicine.

Trudell also looked at the effects of immobility in patients who were bedridden for weeks or months.

He said the new findings mimic what he sees in patients, suggesting that what happens in space can also happen to patients with reduced mobility.

Advertisement

Complete News Source : India Today

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Science

Nasa’s old map of Jupiter, which reminds many of dosa, has gone viral once more

Published

2 years ago

on

May 25, 2022

By

Nasa’s old map of Jupiter, which reminds many of dosa, has gone viral once more

Certain images or videos frequently resurface on the Internet, leaving people speechless. When those clips or pictures are shared again on one social media platform or another, they create a buzz. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) created and posted this image of a map of Jupiter online a few years ago. After being shared on Twitter, the image drew a lot of attention this time. And, as usual, the image made people think of dosa, a popular South Indian dish.

The image was shared by the Twitter account Latest in Space. “From the very bottom of Jupiter, I’m looking up. While tweeting the image, they wrote, “Seen by NASA Cassini.” The images from the Cassini spacecraft’s narrow-angle camera were used to create this out-of-this-world image, which is part of a coloured map series produced by the space agency.

The article was published a few days ago. The tweet has received nearly 20,000 likes since it was shared, and the number is growing. The tweet has been retweeted more than 2,000 times. Take a look at some of the comments to see how the image of Jupiter looks like dosa.

A Twitter user commented, “Looks like a designer dosa.” “When I rush to pick up a call, this is what happens to my dosa on the dosa pan,” one joked. “This is how my mother makes Dosa,” a third said. “Jupiter in the making,” wrote a fourth, along with a photo of someone preparing – you guessed it – dosa.

 

Continue Reading
Anyskill-ads

Facebook

Trending