Study finds space radiation increases risk of Alzheimer?s
By Bruce Powell, The Space Reporter
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
A newly published study holds some bad news for astronauts and potential space tourists: exposure to radiation in space may increase the risk of Alzheimer?s in astronauts.
The study, released early Monday and funded in large part by NASA, finds travel to space carries a significant increase in risk of developing Alzheimer?s.
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O?Banion and his colleagues focused a specific kind of space radiation known as high-mass, high-charged (or HZE) particles. These particles ? which are propelled through space at very high speeds by the force of exploding stars ? come in many different forms. For this study the researcher chose iron particles. Unlikely hydrogen protons, which are produced by solar flares, the mass of HZE particles like iron, combined with their speed, enable them to penetrate solid objects such as the wall and protective shielding of a spacecraft...
