Effects Of Cosmic Radiation Research Articles

Effect of Simulated Cosmic Radiation on Cytomegalovirus Reactivation and Lytic Replication.

Human exploration of the solar system will expose crew members to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR), with a potential for adverse health effects. GCR particles (protons and ions) move at nearly the speed of light and easily penetrate space station walls, as well as the human body. Previously, we have shown reactivation of latent herpesviruses, including herpes simplex virus, Varicella zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus (CMV), during stays at the International Space Station. Given the prevalence of latent CMV and the known propensity of space radiation to cause alterations in many cellular processes, we undertook this study to understand the role of GCR in reactivating latent CMV. Latently infected Kasumi cells with CMV were irradiated with 137Cs gamma rays, 150 MeV protons, 600 MeV/n carbon ions, 600 MeV/n iron ions, proton ions, and simulated GCR. The CMV copy number increased significantly in the cells exposed to radiation as compared with the non-irradiated controls. Viral genome sequencing did not reveal significant nucleotide differences among the compared groups. However, transcriptome analysis showed the upregulation of transcription of the UL49 ORF, implicating it in the switch from latent to lytic replication. These findings support our hypothesis that GCR may be a strong contributor to the reactivation of CMV infection seen in ISS crew members.

Cognitive Effects of Simulated Galactic Cosmic Radiation Are Mediated by ApoE Status, Sex, and Environment in APP Knock-In Mice.

Cosmic radiation experienced during space travel may increase the risk of cognitive impairment. While simulated galactic cosmic radiation (GCRsim) has led to memory deficits in wildtype (WT) mice, it has not been investigated whether GCRsim in combination with genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) worsens memory further in aging mice. Here, we investigated the central nervous system (CNS) effects of 0 Gy (sham) or 0.75 Gy five-ion GCRsim or 2 Gy gamma radiation (IRR) in 14-month-old female and male APPNL-F/NL-F knock-in (KI) mice bearing humanized ApoE3 or ApoE4 (APP;E3F and APP;E4F). As travel to a specialized facility was required for irradiation, both traveled sham-irradiated C57BL/6J WT and KI mice and non-traveled (NT) KI mice acted as controls for potential effects of travel. Mice underwent four behavioral tests at 20 months of age and were euthanized for pathological and biochemical analyses 1 month later. Fecal samples were collected pre- and post-irradiation at four different time points. GCRsim seemed to impair memory in male APP;E3F mice compared to their sham counterparts. Travel tended to improve cognition in male APP;E3F mice and lowered total Aβ in female and male APP;E3F mice compared to their non-traveled counterparts. Sham-irradiated male APP;E4F mice accumulated more fibrillar amyloid than their APP;E3F counterparts. Radiation exposure had only modest effects on behavior and brain changes, but travel-, sex-, and genotype-specific effects were seen. Irradiated mice had immediate and long-term differences in their gut bacterial composition that correlated to Alzheimer's disease phenotypes.

Modeling the Effects of Protracted Cosmic Radiation in a Human Organ-on-Chip Platform.

Galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) is one of the most serious risks posed to astronauts during missions to the Moon and Mars. Experimental models capable of recapitulating human physiology are critical to understanding the effects of radiation on human organs and developing radioprotective measures against space travel exposures. The effects of systemic radiation are studied using a multi-organ-on-a-chip (multi-OoC) platform containing engineered tissue models of human bone marrow (site of hematopoiesis and acute radiation damage), cardiac muscle (site of chronic radiation damage) and liver (site of metabolism), linked by vascular circulation with an endothelial barrier separating individual tissue chambers from the vascular perfusate. Following protracted neutron radiation, the most damaging radiation component in deep space, a greater deviation of tissue function is observed as compared to the same cumulative dose delivered acutely. Further, by characterizing engineered bone marrow (eBM)-derived immune cells in circulation, 58 unique genes specific to the effects of protracted neutron dosing are identified, as compared to acutely irradiated and healthy tissues. It propose that this bioengineered platform allows studies of human responses to extended radiation exposure in an "astronaut-on-a-chip" model that can inform measures for mitigating cosmic radiation injury.

Effects of social isolation and galactic cosmic radiation on fine motor skills and behavioral performance

Future NASA missions will require astronauts to travel farther and spend longer durations in space than ever before. This will also expose astronauts to longer periods of several physical and psychological challenges, including exposure to space radiation (SR) and periods of social isolation (SI), which could have unknown negative effects on physical and mental health. Each also has the potential to negatively impact sleep which can reduce the ability to cope with stressful experiences and lead to sensorimotor, neurocognitive, and physical deficits. The effects of SI and SR on gross motor performance has been shown to vary, and depend on, individual differences in stress resilience and vulnerability based on our established animal model in which stress produces different effects on sleep. In this study, the impact that SI and SR, either alone or together, had on fine motor skill performance (bilateral tactile adhesive removal task (BTAR)) was assessed in male rats. We also examined emotional, exploratory, and other off-task behavioral responses during testing and assessed whether sensorimotor performance and emotion varied with individual differences in resilience and vulnerability. BTAR task performance was differentially impacted by SI and SR, and were further influenced by the stress resilience/vulnerability phenotype of the rats. These findings further demonstrate that identifying individual responses to stressors that can impact sensorimotor ability and behavior necessary to perform mission-related tasks will be of particular importance for astronauts and future missions. Should similar effects occur in humans, there may be considerable inter-individual variability in the impact that inflight stressors have on astronauts and their ability to perform mission-related tasks.

Cardiovascular Effects of Cosmic Radiation and Microgravity.

Recent spaceflights involving nonprofessional people have opened the doors to the suborbital space tourism business. However, they have also drawn public attention to the safety and hazards associated with space travel. Unfortunately, space travel involves a myriad of health risks for people, ranging from DNA damage caused by radiation exposure to the hemodynamic changes that occur when living in microgravity. In fact, the primary pathogenetic role is attributed to cosmic radiation, since deep space lacks the protective benefit of Earth's magnetic shielding. The second risk factor for space-induced pathologies is microgravity, which may affect organ function and cause a different distribution of fluid inside the human body. Both cosmic radiation and microgravity may lead to the alteration of cellular homeostasis and molecular changes in cell function. These, in turn, might have a direct impact on heart function and structure. The aim of this review is to draw attention to the fact that spaceflights constitute a novel frontier in biomedical research. We summarize the most important clinical and experimental evidence regarding the cardiovascular effects of cosmic radiation and microgravity. Finally, we highlight that unraveling the mechanisms underlying how space radiation and microgravity affect the cardiovascular system is crucial for identifying potential countermeasures and developing effective therapeutic strategies.

ДИНАМИКА ИЗМЕНЕНИЯ ГЕМАТОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ, БИОХИМИЧЕСКИХ, ЦИТОГЕНЕТИЧЕСКИХ ПАРАМЕТРОВ И НЕВРОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОЯВЛЕНИЯ У ОБЕЗЬЯН, ОБЛУЧЕННЫХ ИОНАМИ КРИПТОНА ВЫСОКИХ ЭНЕРГИЙ

The delayed effects of high-energy krypton on neurological manifestations, biochemical, hematological and cytogenetic indices were investigated with primates as a model. Several primates developed distinct neurological reactions. Dynamics of several biochemical and hematological indices correlated with the neurological reactions. In this case, some biochemical and hematological indices deviated from the physiological norm. In primates that had no neurological reactions these changes were less evident. The data can be considered as a prerequisite for research and development of a system of protecting cosmonaut's organism against the effects of galactic cosmic radiation.

An Exposure to Natural Background Radiation in Eastern Nepal

Monitoring natural background radiation is important to locate the high background area. The objective of the work is to find the average background radiation in the Morang district and to observe the effects of cosmic radiation at high altitudes. In this study, background radiation was measured in 17 different municipalities of Morang with the help of a GM counter of model GMC-300E plus. The result showed that the annual effective dose of Morang was 0.24±0.02mSv/y and was below the recommended value of 1 mSv/y set by ICRP for public health. The radiation level was slightly higher in the hospital area. The frequency distribution indicates that there is a good fit of observed data with a known Gaussian distribution. The variation of background radiation with an altitude from 381 to 2550m showed an increasing trend. The best-fitted line depicted that background radiation increased by 16% with 1000m in altitude and it was slightly higher than the literature’s result of 10-12%. The comparative study of the present work showed that the effective dose was the least value in the Morang (0.24mSv/y) and the highest in the Pokhara Valley (0.81mSv/yr).

Mitigating space radiation using magnesium(-lithium) and boron carbide composites

The health effects of galactic cosmic radiation are a serious impediment to crewed exploration of the solar system. OLTARIS, an interface for the 3DHZETRN deterministic radiation transport code, was used to assess the response of aerospace materials to this constant radiation exposure. Traditional aerospace structural materials like aluminum can, after a certain mass, increase the health effects of such radiation. However, materials with lower atomic mass may mitigate this build-up in secondary radiation with increasing areal density. As such, lower atomic mass structural alloys of magnesium and magnesium–lithium are promising candidates. These alloys may reduce the mass of structures when substituted for aluminum alloys. Reinforcement with boron carbide could further reduce atomic mass while also improving the mechanical properties of such lightweight alloys. This study found that the lower atomic mass of these materials increased nuclear fragmentation upon cosmic radiation interactions, leading to a softening of the secondary (neutron) radiation spectra. This softened spectra reduced the effective dose equivalent, a measure of health effects, for magnesium(-lithium) alloys and their boron carbide-reinforced composites when compared to aluminum.

Investigation of the Influence of Ionization Radiation on Glassy Carbon Coatings, after Long Stay in the Outer Space on the International Space Station (ISS)

In this study two types of samples of spectrally pure graphite, compacted and coated with glassy carbon, were analyzed with liquid scintillation spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). “Space” sample has been sent in outer space on the surface of ISS for 28 months. “Space” sample is compared with “reference” sample, made of the same material, but stored on Earth for the same period.
 Radiation environment data were collected using R3DR2-Lyulin instrument, located in the outer space very close to the samples, in the same module of ISS. The effect of cosmic radiation leads to slight increase of 14C content, detected by liquid scintillation spectrometry.
 SEM and thermal test using XRD did not show any noticeable changes in terms of structure and phase composition. This confirms the high degree of reliability of this material under significantly milder operating conditions in Earth orbit.

Modeling and countering the effects of cosmic radiation using bioengineered human tissues

Cosmic radiation is the most serious risk that will be encountered during the planned missions to the Moon and Mars. There is a compelling need to understand the effects, safety thresholds, and mechanisms of radiation damage in human tissues, in order to develop measures for radiation protection during extended space travel. As animal models fail to recapitulate the molecular changes in astronauts, engineered human tissues and “organs-on-chips” are valuable tools for studying effects of radiation in vitro. We have developed a bioengineered tissue platform for studying radiation damage in individualized settings. To demonstrate its utility, we determined the effects of radiation using engineered models of two human tissues known to be radiosensitive: engineered cardiac tissues (eCT, a target of chronic radiation damage) and engineered bone marrow (eBM, a target of acute radiation damage). We report the effects of high-dose neutrons, a proxy for simulated galactic cosmic rays, on the expression of key genes implicated in tissue responses to ionizing radiation, phenotypic and functional changes in both tissues, and proof-of-principle application of radioprotective agents. We further determined the extent of inflammatory, oxidative stress, and matrix remodeling gene expression changes, and found that these changes were associated with an early hypertrophic phenotype in eCT and myeloid skewing in eBM. We propose that individualized models of human tissues have potential to provide insights into the effects and mechanisms of radiation during deep-space missions and allow testing of radioprotective measures.

3D Bioprinting in Microgravity: Opportunities, Challenges, and Possible Applications in Space.

3D bioprinting has developed tremendously in the last couple of years and enables the fabrication of simple, as well as complex, tissue models. The international space agencies have recognized the unique opportunities of these technologies for manufacturing cell and tissue models for basic research in space, in particular for investigating the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on different types of human tissues. In addition, bioprinting is capable of producing clinically applicable tissue grafts, and its implementation in space therefore can support the autonomous medical treatment options for astronauts in future long term and far-distant space missions. The article discusses opportunities but also challenges of operating different types of bioprinters under space conditions, mainly in microgravity. While some process steps, most of which involving the handling of liquids, are challenging under microgravity, this environment can help overcome problems such as cell sedimentation in low viscous bioinks. Hopefully, this publication will motivate more researchers to engage in the topic, with publicly available bioprinting opportunities becoming available at the International Space Station (ISS) in the imminent future.

Effects of Simulated 5-Ion Galactic Cosmic Radiation on Function and Structure of the Mouse Heart.

Missions into deep space will expose astronauts to the harsh space environment, and the degenerative tissue effects of space radiation are largely unknown. To assess the risks, in this study, male BALB/c mice were exposed to 500 mGy 5-ion simulated GCR (GCRsim) at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory. In addition, male and female CD1 mice were exposed to GCRsim and administered a diet containing Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β)RI kinase (ALK5) inhibitor IPW-5371 as a potential countermeasure. An ultrasound was performed to investigate cardiac function. Cardiac tissue was collected to determine collagen deposition, the density of the capillary network, and the expression of the immune mediator toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and immune cell markers CD2, CD4, and CD45. In male BALB/c mice, the only significant effects of GCRsim were an increase in the CD2 and TLR4 markers. In male CD1 mice, GCRsim caused a significant increase in total collagens and a decrease in the expression of TLR4, both of which were mitigated by the TGF-β inhibitor diet. In female CD1 mice, GCRsim caused an increase in the number of capillaries per tissue area in the ventricles, which may be explained by the decrease in the left ventricular mass. However, this increase was not mitigated by TGF-β inhibition. In both male and female CD1 mice, the combination of GCRsim and TGF-β inhibition caused changes in left ventricular immune cell markers that were not seen with GCRsim alone. These data suggest that GCRsim results in minor changes to cardiac tissue in both an inbred and outbred mouse strain. While there were few GCRsim effects to be mitigated, results from the combination of GCRsim and the TGF-β inhibitor do point to a role for TGF-β in maintaining markers of immune cells in the heart after exposure to GCR.

The REPAIR Project, a Deep-Underground Radiobiology Experiment Investigating the Biological Effects of Natural Background Radiation: The First 6 Years.

In 2017, a special edition of Radiation Research was published [Oct; Vol. 188 4.2 (https://bioone.org/journals/radiation-research/volume-188/issue-4.2)] which focused on a recently established radiobiology project within SNOLAB, a unique deep-underground research facility. This special edition included original articles, reviews and commentaries relevant to the research goals of this new project which was titled Researching the Effects of the Presence and Absence of Ionizing Radiation (REPAIR). These research goals were founded in understanding the biological effects of terrestrial and cosmic natural background radiation (NBR). Since 2017, REPAIR has evolved into a sub-NBR radiobiology research program which investigates these effects using multiple model systems and various biological endpoints. This paper summarizes the evolution of the REPAIR project over the first 6-years including its experimental scope and capabilities as well as research accomplishments.

Modelling cosmic radiation events in the tree-ring radiocarbon record

Annually resolved measurements of the radiocarbon content in tree-rings have revealed rare sharp rises in carbon-14 production. These ‘Miyake events’ are likely produced by rare increases in cosmic radiation from the Sun or other energetic astrophysical sources. The radiocarbon produced is not only circulated through the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, but also absorbed by the biosphere and locked in the annual growth rings of trees. To interpret high-resolution tree-ring radiocarbon measurements therefore necessitates modelling the entire global carbon cycle. Here, we introduce ‘ticktack’ (https://github.com/SharmaLlama/ticktack/), the first open-source Python package that connects box models of the carbon cycle with modern Bayesian inference tools. We use this to analyse all public annual 14Ctree data, and infer posterior parameters for all six known Miyake events. They do not show a consistent relationship to the solar cycle, and several display extended durations that challenge either astrophysical or geophysical models.

Space Medicines for Space Health.

Scientists from around the world are studying the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation via the "off-Earth" International Space Station (ISS) laboratory platform. The ISS has helped scientists make discoveries that go beyond the basic understanding of Earth. Over 300 medical experiments have been performed to date, with the goal of extending the knowledge gained for the benefit of humanity. This paper gives an overview of these numerous space medical findings, critically identifies challenges and gaps, and puts the achievements into perspective toward long-term space traveling and also adding benefits to our home planet. The medical contents are trifold structured, starting with the well-being of space travelers (astronaut health studies), followed by medical formulation research under space conditions, and then concluding with a blueprint for space pharmaceutical manufacturing. The review covers essential elements of our Earth-based pharmaceutical research such as drug discovery, drug and formulation stability, drug-organ interaction, drug disintegration/bioavailability/pharmacokinetics, pathogen virulence, genome mutation, and body's resistance. The information compiles clinical, medicinal, biological, and chemical research as well as fundamentals and practical applications.

A novel emulation method to assess the effects of cosmic radiation for avionics SoC using the GA based fault injection hardware

A novel emulation method to assess the effects of cosmic radiation for avionics SoC using the GA based fault injection hardware

Stem Cell and Regenerative Methods for Space Personnel

Significant deterioration of organs and tissues occurs in astronauts as a result of cosmic radiation exposure. This is a major obstacle to the developing space industry involving extended space exploration, commercial asteroid mining and the colonization of Earth’s moon and Mars. Cosmic radiation includes galactic cosmic rays, and solar particle events of x-rays and gamma rays that penetrate deeply inducing DNA damage. Potential medical issues for astronauts arising from radiation include cancer, rapid aging, sterility, impaired immune system, re-emergence of pathogenic viruses, neurodegeneration and memory impairment. In summary, there are potentially catastrophic consequences for space personnel from prolonged exposure to radiation. Upregulating the regeneration of tissue using advances in stem cell technology would be a plausible method to counteract radiation damage triggering cellular degeneration. Stem cells are ‘survival’ cells and are responsible for the ongoing repair and regeneration of the human body. Increasing the number of available stem cells improves the regenerative capacity of the body. Current stem cell technology is not possible in space, as it requires multiple medical specialists using major hospital surgical and laboratory equipment. The authors have developed a portable stem cell biotechnology kit that is compact, lightweight, and simple to operate and could be performed by astronauts in space on a frequent basis to potentially regenerate affected tissue and reverse the effects of cosmic radiation. The technology uses laboratory validated peptide hydrogels for stem cell migration and expansion. The astronaut only requires donating a small amount of blood or adipose tissue. Preliminary analysis showed stem cells have high yield, excellent cell viability, and demonstrate normal stem cell health parameters of autophagy and annexin V. This approach may help to balance the degeneration / regeneration cycle of the body subject to radiation. Space personnel can be trained in a short period of time to perform the technology with safety and efficacy.

Effect of space flight on the behavior of human retinal pigment epithelial ARPE-19 cells and evaluation of coenzyme Q10 treatment.

Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) are exposed to the damaging effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation. One of the most critical and sensitive districts of an organism is the eye, particularly the retina, and > 50% of astronauts develop a complex of alterations designated as spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome. However, the pathogenesis of this condition is not clearly understood. In the current study, we aimed to explore the cellular and molecular effects induced in the human retinal pigment ARPE-19 cell line by their transfer to and 3-day stay on board the ISS in the context of an experiment funded by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana. Treatment of cells on board the ISS with the well-known bioenergetic, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic coenzyme Q10 was also evaluated. In the ground control experiment, the cells were exposed to the same conditions as on the ISS, with the exception of microgravity and radiation. The transfer of ARPE-19 retinal cells to the ISS and their living on board for 3days did not affect cell viability or apoptosis but induced cytoskeleton remodeling consisting of vimentin redistribution from the cellular boundaries to the perinuclear area, underlining the collapse of the network of intermediate vimentin filaments under unloading conditions. The morphological changes endured by ARPE-19 cells grown on board the ISS were associated with changes in the transcriptomic profile related to the cellular response to the space environment and were consistent with cell dysfunction adaptations. In addition, the results obtained from ARPE-19 cells treated with coenzyme Q10 indicated its potential to increase cell resistance to damage.

Evidence for the protection of N-heterocycles from gamma radiation by Mars analogue minerals

Organic compounds have been delivered to the surface of Mars via meteorites, comets and interplanetary dust particles for billions of years. Determining the effects of high energy radiation and galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) on these organic compounds is critical for understanding the potential for the preservation of organic molecules associated with past or present life, and where to look for possible chemical bio- signatures during future Mars missions. Understanding how these effects are attenuated by the mineral matrix and the depth at which they are buried have been challenging to determine in situ on Mars. There have been very few experimental studies on the survival of organic compounds under radiation from a gamma source under realistic conditions, and their interpretation until now has been difficult due to the lack of data for actual radiation levels on Mars. Using the in-situ data obtained by the MSL/RAD instrument to anchor the dose calculations, here we show that the N-heterocycles purine and uracil, crucial components of biochemical processes in extant living systems, mixed with calcite, anhydrite, and kaolinite as Mars analogue minerals can survive the effects of radiation with a dose corresponding to ~500,000 years on the Martian surface. The extent of survival varied not only with the nature of the organic compound, but its depth from the surface. These results provide new experimental data for the degree of protection offered by the regolith, in conjunction with minerals, for organic compounds that may be present on Mars.

Respiration Measurements of Individual Tardigrades of the Species Richtersius cf coronifer as a Function of Temperature and Salinity and Termination of Anhydrobiosis.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that tardigrades in a resting state (tun state) are very resistant to exceptional stress levels in comparison with the resistance observed in multicellular organisms in general. The types of stress include desiccation and radiation, which are also relevant in astrobiological research, and therefore, tardigrades are used as multicellular model organisms. For example, tardigrades have been investigated in the TARSE, TARDIS, RoTaRad, and TARDIKISS projects; their survival has been evaluated according to stressful conditions that prevail in low earth orbit, including the effects of cosmic radiation and microgravity. Despite this interest, the study of tardigrade biology has been severely hampered by the sparsity of appropriate quantitative techniques that inform at the single-organism level. In this study, we present results on mass-specific respiration rates as a function of termination of anhydrobiosis and variations in temperature and salinity, including Mars-analog perchlorate solutions, by using microsensor technology to measure respiration. Based on our results for Richtersius cf coronifer, we estimated the activation energy (50.8 kJ/mole O2) for its metabolism as well as Q10 for selected temperature intervals. Q10 was constant-∼1.5-between 2°C and 33°C, except for the interval 11-16°C, where Q10 was 5.5. The steady-state mass-specific respiration rate of individuals of Richtersius cf coronifer increased with increasing salinity below the lethal limit, likely representing the energy requirements of its osmoregulatory response. We report the first quantitative data of a tardigrade's metabolic dynamics during the termination of anhydrobiosis, revealing significant variation between individuals. However, we observed a general trend, that is, a high initial metabolic rate after exposure to water. Our approach would allow us to carry out quantitative physiological studies of tardigrades on board of the International Space Station, and thus significantly extend the possibility of studying the response of multicellular organisms in space. Summary statement This article reports on first measurements of mass-specific respiration rates of individual tardigrades of the species Richtersius cf coronifer during termination of anhydrobiosis as well as measurements of the impact of temperature and salinity on oxygen uptake rates.