The data could be used to make space exploration safer

Aug 4, 2012 09:07 GMT  ·  By
New study quantifies the effects of low-energy proton radiations on living cells
   New study quantifies the effects of low-energy proton radiations on living cells

In a paper published in the latest issue of the esteemed journal PLoS ONE, researchers from the American space agency and other research groups looked at how radiations from protons influenced living cells. The findings could be used to safeguard astronauts against the effects of space radiations.

Oddly enough, about the only things preventing us from conducting space exploration missions at this time are a lack of shielding mechanisms against cosmic radiation and a lack of data on how a crew of 4 to 7 astronauts would react to being crammed together in a small capsule for nearly two years.

While the Mars 500 experiments provided some answers for the second issue, the former is still an open question. Experts are currently trying to determine the best way to protect astronauts against radiation as they travel through the solar system.

It's not as if NASA engineers can coat the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) with lead. While that would definitely offer a great deal of protection, it would also increase the capsule's weight substantially, beyond the capabilities of the planned Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

This is why scientists at the NASA Johnson Space Center, in Houston (the home of the agency's Astronaut Corps) and the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) teamed up for the new research.

“Our paper makes new discoveries on the potential risks from low doses of protons that occur outside of the tumor during radiation therapy, and to all tissues for astronauts exposed to space radiation,” Francis A. Cucinotta explains.

The researcher holds an appointment as the chief scientist for the Human Research Program Space Radiation Program Element at JSC, and was also one of the authors of the PLoS ONE paper.

The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, at the DOE Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, New York, was used for this investigation. The facility enabled researchers to determine how low-energy protons influence epithelial cells, which are ubiquitous inside the human body.

In addition, the team also focused on how exposure to such radiation affected a process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is common in developing cancer tumors. Therefore, the new research could also have applications in cancer therapies here on Earth.

Details of the study appear in a paper entitled “Protons Sensitize Epithelial Cells to Mesenchymal Transition,” in the July 23 issue of the Public Library of Science journal.