Travelling to Mars can affect astronaut’s brain
Researchers have exposed mice to charged particles like those found in galactic cosmic rays. It turns out that traveling to Mars could result for cognitive problems like losing the ability to problem solve. The world was publish in Science Advances. A team led by Charles Limoli from the University of California, Irvine, put mice in front of a single beam high energy radiation. It was fully ionized oxygen and titanium. This is one of the most dangerous kinds of space radiation.
The team were able to see changes in the brain. Six weeks after exposure, the irradiated mice had fewer dendritic synapses. Charged particles broke those branches off, and this is link to Alzheimer’s. The team performed learning and memory tests on the mice. They put them in a box filled with toys, and swapped the toys out or moved them around. When they were compared to the control mice, the exposed mice were not as curious in new, unexpected situations. They also became easily confused and had a delayed reaction.
