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As the likes of Elon Musk continue to promote their grand plans to one day send humans to Mars, new research suggests that the way human organs respond to being in space could throw a spanner in the works.
A team of researchers led by University College London (UCL) found that both human and animal kidneys are reshaped by the conditions of space, with specific parts of the organs showing signs of shrinkage after less than a month off-planet.
Keith Siew, a senior research fellow at UCL who was involved in the study, tells Tech & Science Daily how space conditions affect the kidneys.
He explains how radiation is another risk factor for astronauts who spend extended periods of time in space.
A study shows that one in five children in Britain get their political news from TikTok – and more than 70% cannot name their local MP.
Opinium surveyed 2,000 eight to 17-year-olds in England and Wales in February, and 39% said they did not understand what politicians do.
It found that just over half said their family was a source of political information, 41% said television news and 25% said they got their information from YouTube.
The survey was conducted ahead of a children’s vote before the general election.
Around 80,000 people have registered to take part in the vote, set up by a coalition of organizations including Save the Children, Girlguiding and Young Citizens, with the results expected to be announced on June 28.
Scientists have discovered a brand new species of vegetarian piranha in an Amazon river and named it after Lord of the Rings villain Sauron, because of a marking on its side.
The new species is closely related to the piranha, known as Pacu, and is only found in the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon.
In this episode, Simon Loader, the chief curator in charge of vertebrates at the Natural History Museum, describes this new species and reveals how many undiscovered animals are thought to exist in the Amazon.
Also in this episode:
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Man who lost four fingers, provided with ‘Hero Gauntlet’ from British company
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The insect migration highway discovered in Europe
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Elon Musk confirms that X will hide likes on posts
Listen above, find us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you stream your podcasts.
Here is an automated transcript:
Hello, I’m Jon Weeks, and this is The Standard’s Tech and Science Daily podcast.
We’re coming up on how Elon Musk is changing his likes on X.
But first we are all aware of the plans to one day send humans to Mars. But new research suggests that the way human organs respond to being in space could throw a spanner in the works.
So things like your reproductive system, your intestines, kidneys and other intestines, we haven’t really looked at those, and we’re particularly concerned about the organs that have regenerative capacity.
So your stomach lining is constantly being replaced, your skin is constantly being shed, bone marrow or stem cells that make your blood, or cells that have no regenerative capacity, such as the kidneys, heart and brain.
We’re especially concerned about it because traveling into deep space exposes you to significant amounts of radiation.
That’s Keith Siew, a senior research fellow at University College London, who has been involved in research into how kidneys specifically cope in space.
We’ve known for a while that astronauts get kidney stones. What’s a little less clear is exactly how and why they get them. It is mainly attributed to the bone loss you see in space. You lose about 1% bone mass per month. But we found that the kidney itself may be changing its structure and function, and that this could contribute. So that’s one of the key findings of our article.
A team of researchers led by UCL found that the kidneys of both humans and animals are reshaped by the conditions of space, with specific parts of the organs showing signs of shrinkage after less than a month off-planet.
And Keith said that another major risk factor for the human body in space is the radiation that we are normally protected from here on Earth.
When you look at galactic cosmic rays, this is exotic space radiation you get. That 1% of it is made up of atoms the size of iron that travel at the speed of light, and comes from exploding stars in the Milky Way that pass through your body. And this is especially harmful to the kidneys. And we found that animals exposed to simulated galactic cosmic rays showed signs of dysfunction and damage.
One surprising fact that emerged from the study is that women appear to be better suited for longer-term missions in space.
But Keith says we don’t know exactly why yet.
Some psychological studies have found that the most interesting thing is that if you’re locked in a rocket for about nine months on a single voyage, an all-female crew will get along much, much better than any men. , they do better psychologically.
In terms of biology, we know that there are things like estrogen, for example, that are somewhat protective against cardiovascular disease. And so the cardiovascular implications may be less in women. The vision changes that we see, the blood pressure shifts, this difference is there. So exactly why it happens is unclear, but it does.
A study shows that one in five children in Britain get their political news from TikTok and more than 70% cannot name their local MP.
In England and Wales, up to 17-year-olds were surveyed by Opinion in February 2008. And 39% said they don’t understand what politicians do.
It found that just over half said their family was a source of political information. 41% said television news and 25% said they got their information from YouTube.
The survey was conducted ahead of a children’s vote before the general election.
80,000 people have registered to take part in the vote set up by a coalition of organizations including Save the Children, Girlguiding and Young Citizens.
And the results are expected to be announced on June 28.
Scientists have discovered a brand new species of vegetarian piranha in an Amazon river and given it a name inspired by a famous character by writer JRR.Tolkien.
It has a very distinctive vertical bar in the middle of the fish that runs down and it essentially resembles the Eye of Sauron in the movie The Lord of the Rings.
Simon Loader is the chief curator responsible for vertebrates at the Natural History Museum.
He said the new species is closely related to the piranha known as pacu and is found only in the Shingu River, a tributary of the Amazon.
Simon told us how they know the fish is on a vegetarian diet.
They have teeth that some people have described as looking more, shall we say, like humans, and that reflects the kind of variety of teeth we have in our mouths.
So in this pacus they have teeth that are shaped so that they can process plant material.
It is estimated that 42% of the fish in the Amazon are unknown to science. And Simon said a big part of the Natural History Museum’s job is to find more undiscovered species.
There are an extraordinary number of species there. So you might imagine that there are a large number of species waiting to be described. So whatever is there now, at least double it and if not much more. And specifically for things like piranhas, the work outlined in this study highlighted that lack of understanding and that there are many new species waiting to be described.
A man who has lost four fingers will soon be fitted with a hero’s glove and Elon Musk confirms that X will start hiding likes on posts.
Welcome back.
Researchers from the University of Exeter have gathered evidence of what is being called an insect migration superhighway.
Using cameras and butterfly nets, they discovered that more than 17 million insects migrate through a single mountain pass on the border between France and Spain every year.
It is a 30-metre gap between two high peaks in the Pyrenees and the team visited the pass every autumn for four years to monitor the huge number and variety of day-flying insects moving south.
The migratory insects actually begin these journeys further north in Europe, including Britain, but the researchers warned they could decline due to the climate crisis and habitat loss.
A former truck driver who lost all four fingers on his right hand in a work accident has been fitted with a new 3D-printed bionic hand, a Hero Gauntlet, by British company Open Bionics.
52-year-old Michael Alfime is the first person in the world to make the device beyond prototypes, allowing him to grab and hold things.
The Hero Gauntlet has 3D printed fingers that attach to his palm and are controlled by Michael’s wrist movement.
He said the Hero Gauntlet allowed him to hold a shopping basket and use his other hand to load groceries. He also plans to use the device while fishing, cycling and doing odd jobs.
And finally, Elon Musk has confirmed reports that his social platform will hide X likes on posts to help users protect their public image.
Reports suggest that the social media giants would begin rolling out the change shortly, with the billionaire posting a link to such a report and confirming that the change has arrived.
Mr Musk said it is important to make them private so people can like posts without being attacked for it.
You are informed.
Come back at 4pm and tune into The Standard Podcast for the latest news and analysis.
We’ll be back tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock.
See you then.