Posts Tagged ‘Mars’

 

Is NASA really preparing to announce the discovery of life on Mars?

August 5th, 2008 by Kevin A. Barnes

A number of small items from NASA’s public relations efforts have caught my attention in the last several days, and — like pieces of a puzzle — I’m beginning to suspect that they all fit together in a way that points to a major upcoming announcement about Mars. But unfortunately I also suspect that announcement will disappoint those who champion the idea of a Mars that once (or even still today) harbored life.
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Categories: Science, Space Exploration | Tags: , , ,
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A Cure for the “Radiation Space Travel Blues”?

April 14th, 2008 by Kevin A. Barnes

Science magazine has just published a peer-reviewed article examining the radioprotective (or anti-radiation) abilities of an emerging class of drugs. [1] This follows the recent announcements that two pharmaceutical/biotech companies have received government funding to further develop their respective anti-radiation drugs. According to the announcements for the research awards, the US Department of Defense is seeking anti-radiation drugs that can be used to treat soldiers who are exposed to radiation. My initial thought with respect to this news, however, is that such anti-radiation drugs also may help solve one of the largest challenges associated with interplanetary travel — in fact, the development of anti-radiation drugs could be as important to human spaceflight as the development of the spacesuit. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories: Innovation/Creativity, Science, Space Exploration, The Future | Tags: , , , , , , ,
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