On June 27–28, 2011, scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NASA, and academiamet in Bethesda to discuss major lung cancer issues confronting each organization. For NASA, available data suggest that lung cancer is the largest potential cancer risk from space travel for both men and women and quantitative risk assessment information formission planning is needed. In space, the radi...

The author was the Chairman of a Task Group on the Biological Effects of Space Radiation formed as a result of discussions between NASA and the U.S. National Research Council's Committee on Space Biology and Medicine - a committee under the U.S. National Research Council's Space Studies Board. The Task Group was asked to review current knowledge on the effects of long-term exposure to radiation...

Previous studies have shown that the eyes of ATM heterozygous mice exposed to low-LET radiation (X-rays) are significantly more susceptible to the development of cataracts than are those of wildtype mice. The findings, as well as others, run counter to the assumption underpinning current radiation safety guidelines, that individuals are all equally sensitive to the biological effects of radiati...

On June 27-28, 2011, scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NASA, and academia met in Bethesda to discuss major lung cancer issues confronting each organization. For NASA, available data suggest that lung cancer is the largest potential cancer risk from space travel for both men and women and quantitative risk assessment information for mission planning is needed. In space, the ra...

Ionizing radiation associated with highly energetic and charged heavy (HZE) particles poses a danger to astronauts during space travel. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the patterns of gene expression associated with cellular exposure to low-dose iron ion irradiation, in the presence and absence of L-selenomethionine (SeM). Human thyroid epithelial cells (HTori-3) were exposed to lo...

Approaches to visualise the dynamics of the DNA lesion processing substantially contributes to the understanding of the hierarchical organisation of the DNA damage response pathways. Charged particle irradiation has recently emerged as a tool to generate discrete sites of subnuclear damage by its means of extremely localised dose deposition at low energies, thus facilitating the spatiotemporal ...

Once outside of the Earth’s atmosphere astronauts are exposed to two main types of radiation, galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar energetic particles. GCRs consist of high energy, charged nuclei of elements ranging from H (hydrogen) to Fe (iron). High energy, charged nuclei of H (protons) are the major component of GCRs whereas approximately 1% of GCRs are larger ions with charges greater than...

Future deep space mission and International Space Station exposures will be dominated by the high-charge and -energy (HZE) ions of the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR). A few mammalian systems have been extensively tested over a broad range of ion types and energies. For example, C3H10T1/2 cells, V79 cells, and Harderian gland tumors have been described by various track-structure dependent response m...

Astronauts are exposed to a unique radiation environment during space missions. This is dominated by high charge and energy (HZE) ions with sources that include solar energetic particles (SEPs), galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), trapped electrons protons around planetary bodies substantial magnetic fields. Traditional shielding strategies aim reduce astronaut exposure increasing vehicle mass, but th...