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As figures like 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 put a damper on the wheels.
A team of researchers led by University College London (UCL) has discovered that human and animal kidneys are remodeled by space conditions, with specific parts of the organs showing signs of shrinking after less than a month off the planet.
Keith Siew, lead researcher at UCL, who was involved in the research, tells Tech & Science Daily how conditions in space affect the kidneys.
He explains that radiation is another risk factor for astronauts who spend long periods of time in space.
A survey suggests one in five children in the UK get their political news from TikTok – and more than 70% can’t name their local MP.
Opinium surveyed 2,000 young people aged 8 to 17 in February in England and Wales, and 39% said they did not understand what politicians do.
The study found that just over half said their family was a source of political news, 41% said TV news and 25% said they get their news from YouTube.
The survey was carried out ahead of children voting ahead of 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, 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 named it after Lord of the Rings villain Sauron after a mark on its side.
The new species is a close relative of the piranha known as Pacu, and is only found in the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon River.
In this episode, Simon Loader, senior curator of vertebrates at the Natural History Museum, describes this new species and reveals how many unknown animals may exist in the Amazon.
Also in this episode:
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Man who lost four of his fingers fitted with ‘Hero Gauntlet’ by British company
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The insect migration highway discovered in Europe
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Elon Musk confirms that X will start hiding likes on posts
Listen above, find us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you stream your podcasts.
Here is an automated transcription:
Hello, my name is Jon Weeks and this is the Tech and Science Daily podcast from The Standard.
Ahead, how Elon Musk changes his likes on X.
But first, we all know about the plans to one day send humans to Mars. But new research suggests that the way human organs respond to being in space could put a damper on things.
So things like your reproductive tract, your intestines, your kidneys, other visceral organs, we haven’t really looked at them, and we’re particularly concerned about organs that have regenerative capacity.
So your stomach lining is constantly replacing itself, your skin is constantly drying out, the bone marrow or stem cells that create your blood, or those that don’t have regenerative capacity like the kidneys, heart and brain.
We’re particularly concerned about them because you’re going to be exposed to quite significant amounts of radiation during deep space travel.
This is Keith Siew, a senior researcher at University College London, who has been involved in research into how kidneys respond specifically in space.
We’ve known for some time that astronauts suffer from kidney stones. What’s a little less clear is exactly how and why they get them. This has primarily been attributed to the bone loss seen in space. You lose about 1% of bone mass per month. But we found that the structure and function of the kidney itself might change, which could contribute. This is therefore one of the main conclusions of our article.
A UCL-led team of researchers has discovered that human and animal kidneys are remodeled by space conditions, with specific parts of the organs showing signs of shrinking after less than a month off the planet.
And Keith said another huge risk factor for the human body in space is the radiation we’re normally shielded from here on Earth.
Looking at galactic cosmic rays, you get exotic space radiation. This 1% is made up of atoms as big as iron moving at the speed of light and come from exploding stars in the galaxy passing through your body. And this is particularly damaging to the kidneys. And we found that in animals exposed to simulated galactic cosmic radiation, they showed signs of dysfunction and damage.
A surprising fact emerging from the research is that women appear better suited to handle long-term missions in deep space.
But Keith says we don’t yet know exactly why.
Some psychological studies have shown that, most interestingly, if you’re stuck in a rocket for about nine months on a one-way trip, an all-female crew will fare much better than all men . , they do better psychologically.
In terms of biology, we know that there are things, for example, like estrogen that protect against cardiovascular disease to some extent. The cardiovascular implications could therefore be less in women. The view changes, the blood pressure changes, this difference is there. It’s not entirely clear why this happens, but it does.
A survey suggests that one in five children in the UK get their political news from TikTok and more than 70% cannot name their local MP.
Young people aged 2008 to 17 were surveyed by Opinion in February in England and Wales. And 39% said they don’t understand what politicians do.
The study found that just over half said their family was a source of political information. 41% responded to TV news and 25% said they get their news from YouTube.
The survey was carried out ahead of children voting ahead of the general election.
80,000 people registered to participate in the vote organized 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 named it after a famous character from writer JRR Tolkien.
It has this very distinctive vertical bar in the center of the fish that goes down and basically looks like the eye of Sauron in the Lord of the Rings movie.
Simon Loader is the Senior Curator of Vertebrates at the Natural History Museum.
He said the new species is a close relative of the piranha known as the pacu and is only found in the Shingu River, a tributary of the Amazon River.
Simon explained to us how they knew the fish had a vegetarian diet.
They have teeth that some people have described as being more, shall we say, human-like and which reflect the type of variation of teeth that we have in our mouths.
So, in these pacus, they have teeth whose shape allows them to process plant matter.
An estimated 42% of Amazonian fish are unknown to science. And Simon said searching for previously unknown species was a big part of the Natural History Museum’s work.
There are an extraordinary number of species there. We can therefore imagine that there are a large number of species waiting to be described. So whatever amount is available now, at least double it, if not much more. And specifically for things like piranhas, the work described in this study has highlighted this lack of understanding and the fact that there are many new species awaiting description.
Coming up, a man who lost four of his fingers is fitted with a hero’s glove and Elon Musk confirms that X will start hiding his likes on his posts.
Happy to see you again.
Researchers at the University of Exeter have recorded evidence of what is called an insect migration superhighway.
Using cameras and butterfly nets, they discovered that more than 17 million insects migrate each year via a single mountain pass on the border between France and Spain.
It’s a 30-metre gap between two high peaks in the Pyrenees and the team visited the pass every autumn for four years, monitoring the large numbers and variety of daytime flying insects heading south.
The migratory insects actually begin their journey further north in Europe, including the UK, but researchers have warned that due to the climate crisis and habitat loss, they are thought to be in decline.
A former truck driver who lost all four fingers on his right hand in a workplace accident has been fitted with a new 3D-printed bionic hand called the Hero Gauntlet by British company Open Bionics.
Michael Alfime, 52, is the first person in the world to release the device from prototypes, which allows him to grasp and hold objects.
The Hero Gauntlet has 3D printed fingers that attach to his palm and are controlled by the movement of Michael’s wrist.
He said he was able to hold a basket with the Hero Gauntlet and use his other hand to load groceries. He also plans to use the device for fishing, bike rides and DIY projects.
And finally, Elon Musk confirmed reports that his social platform X will start hiding likes on posts to help users protect their public image.
Reports suggest that the social media giants would soon begin rolling out the change, with the billionaire posting a link to one of these reports and confirming that the change was imminent.
Mr. Musk said it was important to make them private to allow people to like posts without being attacked for doing so.
You are up to date.
Check back at 4 p.m. and look for The Standard Podcast for the latest news and analysis.
We’ll be back tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock.
See you later.