* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, October 24, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Project underway to upgrade technology on 911 towers in Kanawha County – WCHS

    Kanawha County Launches Major Upgrade to 911 Tower Technology

    Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

    Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    ‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

    Reba McEntire Details Personal Relationship With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock – KNDU

    Reba McEntire Shares Emotional Tribute to Her Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock

    Sacramento city leaders approve adding 2 entertainment zones in midtown – CBS News

    Sacramento City Leaders Approve Two Thrilling New Entertainment Zones in Midtown

    AMC brings first new Dolby Experience to Gwinnett since 2017 – Wyoming News Now

    AMC Launches First New Dolby Experience in Gwinnett Since 2017

    Hetzel Design: blending architecture and entertainment – Blooloop

    Hetzel Design: Where Architecture and Entertainment Unite in Perfect Harmony

    Country music legend rushed to hospital year after heart surgery. Here’s what we know – PennLive.com

    Country Music Legend Rushed to Hospital One Year After Heart Surgery – What’s Happening Now?

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Project underway to upgrade technology on 911 towers in Kanawha County – WCHS

    Kanawha County Launches Major Upgrade to 911 Tower Technology

    Next steps: Technology opens new options for greater mobility – Missouri Independent

    Next Steps: How Technology is Opening Exciting New Doors to Greater Mobility

    Rydberg Technologies Inc. Announces Launch of Rydberg Photonics in Berlin – The Quantum Insider

    Rydberg Technologies Launches Exciting New Photonics Division in Berlin

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    A look into new technology at Columbia University that could help prevent a dangerous pregnancy complication – ABC7 New York

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    Office Technology: Dealers’ Managed IT Revenue up Nearly 30% – The Cannata Report –

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    3 E Network Technology Group Limited Closes $1.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note Offering – Quiver Quantitative

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Traveling to Mars could destroy your kidneys

June 18, 2024
in Science
Traveling to Mars could destroy your kidneys
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

New research suggests that a Mars-bound astronaut may need dialysis on the way home.

Posted on Jun 18, 2024 9:30 AM EDT

Illustration of an astronaut on Mars, using a remote control drone to inspect a nearby cliff.

Illustration of an astronaut on Mars, using a remote control drone to inspect a nearby cliff. Credit: NASA

We already know that outer space isn’t a friendly place for humans to exist. There’s no breathable air or drinkable water unless you bring it with you, and it’s either freezing cold or burning hot depending on where you are. But the effects on our bodies run so much deeper than those obvious life-threatening issues. 

From decades of space exploration, we’ve seen that astronauts’ bones weaken and their muscles deteriorate from the lack of gravity, their risks of cancer increase from space radiation, and their immune systems are compromised by the stress of spaceflight. And these problems only get worse the longer you’re out there, which is a serious problem for planning trips to far away destinations like Mars.

Research from nephrologists at University College London (UCL), recently published in Nature, identifies another challenge we’ll have to face as we venture beyond Earth. This new work shows that long term spaceflight might permanently damage a human’s kidneys, so much so that an astronaut going to Mars might even need dialysis on the way back.

“As far as we could tell, no one had been looking at the impacts of spaceflight on kidney health since the end of the space race,” explained Keith Siew, lead author and renal medicine researcher at UCLA, on behalf of himself and co-author Ben Walsh, a nephrologist at the same institution.

“Perhaps more striking to us was that we could find very little about the impacts of space radiation on the kidney,” he added. In hospitals here on Earth, doctors know from first-hand experience that our kidneys are quite sensitive to radiation—in fact, they’re often one of the major limiting factors for how much radiation therapy can be done on a cancer patient.

The kidney also “plays a central role in kidney stone formation and bone loss, both of which are major problems observed in astronauts,” explains Norio Suzuki, a medical scientist at Japan’s Tohoku University not affiliated with the new research. Our kidneys are responsible for cleaning out our blood and regulating the amount of fluid in our bodies; if they aren’t working well enough or if there is just too much gunk to deal with, you can end up with kidney stones or other ailments. Understanding space’s effects on the kidneys is crucial “to develop preventive medicine for future space travelers, not limited to healthy celebrities,” adds Suzuki.

To figure out what’s going on in the kidneys of creatures that have been to space, Siew and collaborators looked at biological samples from humans, mice, and rats that had been to the International Space Station for various experiments, plus some in Earth-bound experiments exposed to doses of radiation similar to that encountered on the ISS. Using these organisms’ urine, feces, blood, and even pieces of their kidneys (not from the humans, of course), the researchers found a few major changes happening across the board.

First off, they noticed that two proteins in the kidneys—which affect how well our bodies can process calcium—are essentially being switched off somehow in spaceflight. Secondly, they noticed some major changes in a part of the kidney called the distal convoluted tubule (DCT), a specific part of the nephrons that actually do the filtering the kidney’s known for. The DCT specifically is “responsible for fine tuning the body’s calcium and magnesium handling, but perhaps best known for regulating sodium and blood pressure,” says Siew. 

Medical research on Earth has recently shown that DCTs “are in fact incredibly plastic” and “could alter its structure in a matter of weeks,” he adds. In space, the DCT appeared to be getting shorter—a phenomenon that we also observe in unhealthy organisms on Earth. It seems that not only are astronauts losing extra calcium from their bones weakening, they are also having a harder time than usual getting rid of that excess calcium in their kidneys, perhaps leading to kidney stones.

It’s yet unclear why these particular changes are happening, but the authors postulate that changes in blood pressure from the lack of gravity might be putting extra strain on the kidneys. Radiation is also almost certainly a major issue, as mice exposed to space-like doses showed similar kidney damage to humans undergoing radiation therapy, such as tiny blood clots in the kidney’s capillaries. No matter what the cause, the challenging environment of outer space is clearly remodeling our kidneys for the worse.

“The remarkable thing is that if someone was experiencing kidney remodeling, it’s unlikely they would feel any different until one day they have a kidney stone scraping down their ureter or worse, blocking it,” says Siew about the astronaut experience. “It remains to be seen if the kidney remodeling is reversible and on what time scale.”

Although more research is needed to fully understand the ways our kidneys change in space, they already have a few ideas for how to combat cosmic kidney disease. One clear area for improvement is protection from radiation—but the seemingly-obvious idea of adding additional shielding to the space station might actually do more harm than good when faced with the ultra-fast particles in cosmic radiation. “I like to imagine it like a bullet coming through a large pane of glass, and while the bullet grazes your shoulder and does real damage, it’s all the broken glass raining down on you that’s really going to cut you up and potentially be more life threatening,” says Siew. 

An alternative is to try to create a portable version of Earth’s magnetic field, which is what protects us on our home planet, in an idea known as active shielding. Medical researchers are also looking into drugs that might help counteract the extra stress the kidneys face in space, whether by fighting oxidation or helping out mitochondria inside cells. It looks like eventual human missions to Mars will have yet another life-saving thing to pack for their journeys.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Popular Science – https://www.popsci.com/science/mars-kidneys/

Tags: DestroyscienceTraveling
Previous Post

On the hunt: Tracking the illegal cheetah trade

Next Post

Moon rovers are evolving to survive the harsh lunar night

Ecology researchers work to update Columbia River fish advisories — but face new challenges in climate change – Longview Daily News

Ecology researchers work to update Columbia River fish advisories — but face new challenges in climate change – Longview Daily News

October 24, 2025

Unlock the Secrets to Growing a Giant Pumpkin Using Science

October 24, 2025
Rare dinosaur mummies help scientists recreate their prehistoric lives – ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

Rare Dinosaur Mummies Unlock Secrets of Their Prehistoric Lives

October 24, 2025
Orange Cat Celebrates Halloween by Putting Candy Corn in Her Water Bowl – Yahoo

Orange Cat’s Hilarious Halloween Trick: Candy Corn in Her Water Bowl!

October 24, 2025
Project underway to upgrade technology on 911 towers in Kanawha County – WCHS

Kanawha County Launches Major Upgrade to 911 Tower Technology

October 24, 2025
Sports gambling indictment revives tough questions about integrity – Axios

Sports Gambling Indictment Sparks Renewed Debate Over Integrity

October 23, 2025
Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik investigated for bullying following death of grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky – CNN

Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik Under Investigation Amid Tragic Loss of Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky

October 23, 2025
Trump approval on economy hits new low: Quinnipiac poll – The Hill

Trump’s Economic Approval Hits Historic Low in Shocking New Poll

October 23, 2025
‘Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: Hit Manga Gets an Ultra-Violent, Surprisingly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation – Yahoo

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Review: A Brutal and Unexpectedly Emotional Big-Screen Adaptation

October 23, 2025
WHO launches new country guidance for health emergency coordination – World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO Launches Bold New Global Guidelines to Revolutionize Health Emergency Coordination

October 23, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (883)
  • Economy (904)
  • Entertainment (21,775)
  • General (17,768)
  • Health (9,945)
  • Lifestyle (917)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (905)
  • Politics (914)
  • Science (16,115)
  • Sports (21,404)
  • Technology (15,884)
  • World (887)

Recent News

Ecology researchers work to update Columbia River fish advisories — but face new challenges in climate change – Longview Daily News

Ecology researchers work to update Columbia River fish advisories — but face new challenges in climate change – Longview Daily News

October 24, 2025

Unlock the Secrets to Growing a Giant Pumpkin Using Science

October 24, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version