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Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration

With new and advanced technology, human exploration has reached outside of the Earth’s boundaries. There are plans for reaching Mars and the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, and even to build a permanent base on the Moon. However, human beings have evolved on Earth with levels of gravity and radiat...

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Autores principales: Puspitasari, Anggraeini, Cerri, Matteo, Takahashi, Akihisa, Yoshida, Yukari, Hanamura, Kenji, Tinganelli, Walter
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7828799/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33466717
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11010054
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author Puspitasari, Anggraeini
Cerri, Matteo
Takahashi, Akihisa
Yoshida, Yukari
Hanamura, Kenji
Tinganelli, Walter
author_facet Puspitasari, Anggraeini
Cerri, Matteo
Takahashi, Akihisa
Yoshida, Yukari
Hanamura, Kenji
Tinganelli, Walter
author_sort Puspitasari, Anggraeini
collection PubMed
description With new and advanced technology, human exploration has reached outside of the Earth’s boundaries. There are plans for reaching Mars and the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, and even to build a permanent base on the Moon. However, human beings have evolved on Earth with levels of gravity and radiation that are very different from those that we have to face in space. These issues seem to pose a significant limitation on exploration. Although there are plausible solutions for problems related to the lack of gravity, it is still unclear how to address the radiation problem. Several solutions have been proposed, such as passive or active shielding or the use of specific drugs that could reduce the effects of radiation. Recently, a method that reproduces a mechanism similar to hibernation or torpor, known as synthetic torpor, has started to become possible. Several studies show that hibernators are resistant to acute high-dose-rate radiation exposure. However, the underlying mechanism of how this occurs remains unclear, and further investigation is needed. Whether synthetic hibernation will also protect from the deleterious effects of chronic low-dose-rate radiation exposure is currently unknown. Hibernators can modulate their neuronal firing, adjust their cardiovascular function, regulate their body temperature, preserve their muscles during prolonged inactivity, regulate their immune system, and most importantly, increase their radioresistance during the inactive period. According to recent studies, synthetic hibernation, just like natural hibernation, could mitigate radiation-induced toxicity. In this review, we see what artificial hibernation is and how it could help the next generation of astronauts in future interplanetary missions.
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spelling pubmed-78287992021-01-25 Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration Puspitasari, Anggraeini Cerri, Matteo Takahashi, Akihisa Yoshida, Yukari Hanamura, Kenji Tinganelli, Walter Life (Basel) Review With new and advanced technology, human exploration has reached outside of the Earth’s boundaries. There are plans for reaching Mars and the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, and even to build a permanent base on the Moon. However, human beings have evolved on Earth with levels of gravity and radiation that are very different from those that we have to face in space. These issues seem to pose a significant limitation on exploration. Although there are plausible solutions for problems related to the lack of gravity, it is still unclear how to address the radiation problem. Several solutions have been proposed, such as passive or active shielding or the use of specific drugs that could reduce the effects of radiation. Recently, a method that reproduces a mechanism similar to hibernation or torpor, known as synthetic torpor, has started to become possible. Several studies show that hibernators are resistant to acute high-dose-rate radiation exposure. However, the underlying mechanism of how this occurs remains unclear, and further investigation is needed. Whether synthetic hibernation will also protect from the deleterious effects of chronic low-dose-rate radiation exposure is currently unknown. Hibernators can modulate their neuronal firing, adjust their cardiovascular function, regulate their body temperature, preserve their muscles during prolonged inactivity, regulate their immune system, and most importantly, increase their radioresistance during the inactive period. According to recent studies, synthetic hibernation, just like natural hibernation, could mitigate radiation-induced toxicity. In this review, we see what artificial hibernation is and how it could help the next generation of astronauts in future interplanetary missions. MDPI 2021-01-14 /pmc/articles/PMC7828799/ /pubmed/33466717 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11010054 Text en © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Puspitasari, Anggraeini
Cerri, Matteo
Takahashi, Akihisa
Yoshida, Yukari
Hanamura, Kenji
Tinganelli, Walter
Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration
title Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration
title_full Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration
title_fullStr Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration
title_full_unstemmed Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration
title_short Hibernation as a Tool for Radiation Protection in Space Exploration
title_sort hibernation as a tool for radiation protection in space exploration
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7828799/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33466717
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11010054
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