With the new possibility of sending people to Mars, scientists like James Thomas are beginning to study the effect of space on your body. The measured the change of the shape of 12 astronauts hearts before, during, and after their training. They found that the astronauts hearts became 9% rounder. In space, the heart does not need to work hard to pump the blood. This slowly causes the heart to weaken and loose muscle.
James and Thomas and his team are developing different exercises that result in the heart needing to work harder. They are hoping that these exercises will be able to help other heart problems and conditions that happen with in the atmosphere. The goal is to be able to develop an exercise routine that will allow hearts to remain healthy for the eventual attempt to inhabit Mars.
Themes of Nature of Science:
Role of Skepticism: Many of the people are using the new evidence of heart weakness may cause the Mars trip to be called off
Role of Motivation and Curiosity: Many people want to find out if Mars is inhabitable, and many scientists could like to see if their exercises could influence other heart diseases
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This is a super interesting topic! I found another article which discusses other physical issues space travel causes. Studies have shown that astronauts are exposed to a range of health issues when taking prolonged trips into space, including losses in bone density and muscle mass and vision anomalies. In addition to the loss of muscle mass, the there is concern that radiation exposure may cause cardiac issues. Astronauts suffer a variety of cardiac effects upon returning to Earth. An example is Orthostatic hypotension, where the astronauts become lightheaded or pass out. This occurs when the body experiences a sudden drop in blood pressure when an astronaut tries to stand up.
ReplyDeleteFor more information: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113107913/astronauts-experience-spherical-hearts-spaceflight-033114/