How going to Mars could give you LEUKAEMIA
- Those on the 3 year and 140 million mile journey would be exposed to radiation
- Exposure to the rays affected the ability to create key infection-fighting cells
- This weakens the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to tumours
- This can directly damage human stem cells, a known risk factor of blood cancer
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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Think twice before signing up to go to Mars.
Those wanting to travel through space to reach the red planet are at an increased risk of leukaemia, new research suggests.
Adventurers on the three year and 140 million mile journey would be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, scientists claim.
And in the NASA-funded study on mice transplanted with human stem cells, this directly caused blood cancer in two ways.
Exposure to rays affected the ability to create key infection-fighting cells that actively target infections and tumours.
Those wanting to travel through space to reach the red planet are at an increased risk of leukaemia, new research suggests (stock)
This weakens their immune system, leaving them more prone to radiation-induced cancer, researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine said.
While doses of killer electrons also created genetic damage to the cells, a known risk factor of cancer.
The study, published in the journal Leukemia, was the first to show a damaging effect of low doses of space radiation.
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During a journey through space, travelers are exposed to high amounts of solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays.
Having simulated these in a laboratory, the researchers assessed their direct effects on mice with human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) obtained from healthy donors.
The participants were all between 30 and 55 years old, among the typical ages for being an astronaut.
Adventurers on the three year and 140 million mile journey would be exposed to dangerous levels of cancer-causing radiation, scientists claim
HSCs produce blood cells that circulate through the body and transport oxygen, fight infections and eliminate any malignancies.
In a laboratory setting, they were then exposed to Mars mission-relevant doses of protons and ions.
Mice were then transplanted with the cells and found to develop T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia as a result.
The levels were found to dramatically affect the health and function of HSCs, causing mutations linked to cancer.
While exposure also reduced their function to produce white blood cells by as much as 80 per cent.
As part of the ongoing study, the researchers are testing a common dietary supplement for its ability to protect astronauts from radiation.
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