Artist's depiction of the cardiovascular effects of galactic cosmic radiation. Credit - Dave Kiehl

When astronauts first travel to Mars, or anywhere else in deep space, they will have to contend with two problems that our planet itself protects us from on its surface - radiation and weightlessness. Scientists already know both can have a profound impact on the human body, but just how much of one, and how long that impact can last, remain a mystery. A new paper by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and published in PLoS One, tackles those questions, and unfortunately comes up with some less than ideal answers in terms of the long term implications of deep space exposure.

Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör . Innehållet i podden är skapat av och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.