NASA Research: Long duration space missions 'may damage eyesight'

The eyes and brains of astronauts who have spent long periods of time in orbit can develop abnormalities, new research has suggested.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 27 spacefarers found effects similar to those that can occur in intracranial hypertension, which results in a build up of pressure within the skull.

The concern would be that astronauts could suffer eyesight problems.

The study is reported in the Journal of Radiology.

It was led by Larry Kramer, a professor of diagnostic and interventional imaging at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

His team examined astronauts who had spent more than 30 days of cumulative time in the weightless environment of space.

The group found evidence for expansion of the cerebral spinal fluid space surrounding the optic nerve of nine of the astronauts, a flattening of the rear of the eyeball in six, a bulging of the optic nerve in four, and changes in the pituitary gland and its connection to the brain in three individuals.

The pituitary gland secretes and stores hormones that regulate a variety of important body functions.

The health of astronauts is very carefully monitored. Living in weightless conditions for extended periods can result in a loss of bone density and in muscle wastage.

There are also dangers associated with radiation coming from the Sun.

It is partly for these reasons that stays on the International Space Station (ISS) are restricted to six months.

If missions to Mars were ever conducted, the period of travel to and from the planet would likely take over a year.

US space agency (Nasa) medical staff said they were looking into the latest concerns, but that the scale of abnormalities observed did not have them unduly worried at this stage.

William Tarver, the chief of flight medicine clinic at Nasa's Johnson Space Center, said the results were suspicious but not conclusive of intracranial hypertension.

"Nasa has placed this problem high on its list of human risks, has initiated a comprehensive programme to study its mechanisms and implications, and will continue to closely monitor the situation," he said.

BAE's ADAPTIV technology renders vehicles invisible to infrared

Infrared imaging is used for a range of military applications - such as target acquisition, night vision, homing and tracking - which means that any vehicle with some kind of infrared “invisibility cloak” would hold significant advantages on the battlefield.

BAE Systems has tested just such a technology that not only allows vehicles to blend into their surroundings, but can also let it mimic other vehicles or natural objects.

Dubbed "ADAPTIV," the patented infrared cloaking technology developed at BAE consists of sheets of hexagonal panels that act as pixels when attached to the exterior of the vehicle.

These pixels can individually change temperature very rapidly and combine to display an infrared image of the background scenery captured from cameras onboard the vehicle, allowing even a moving tank to match its surroundings.

BAE has also put together a library of images to display the heat signature of other vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and natural objects, such as large rocks.

Researchers turn long-term memories on and off with the flip of a switch

Using electrical probes embedded into the brains of rats, scientists have managed to replicate the brain function associated with long-term behaviour and found a way to literally turn memories on and off with the flip of a switch.

The scientists hope their research will eventually lead to a neural prosthesis to help people suffering Alzheimer's disease, the effects of stroke or other brain injury to recover long-term memory capability.

For their experiments, the research team from the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering's Department of Biomedical Engineering, working with scientists from Wake Forest University, had rats learn which of one of two levers to press to receive a reward.

Building on their previous work showing that the hippocampus is responsible for converting short-term memory into long-term memory, the researchers used embedded electrical probes to record the rat's brain activity between two major internal divisions of the hippocampus as they were learning.

These divisions, which are known as subregions CA3 and CA1, had previously been shown to interact to create long-term memory.

"No hippocampus," says USC's Theodore Berger, "no long-term memory, but still short-term memory."

The researchers then drugged the rats to block the normal neural interactions between CA3 and CA1. The rats that had previously been trained to choose the correct lever no longer displayed the long-term learned behaviour.

"The rats still showed that they knew 'when you press left first, then press right next time, and vice-versa,'" Berger said. "And they still knew in general to press levers for water, but they could only remember whether they had pressed left or right for 5-10 seconds."

The next step of the experiment involved creating an artificial hippocampial system that could duplicate the pattern of interaction between CA3-CA1 interactions. When the team activated the electronic device programmed to duplicate the memory-encoding function, long-term memory capability returned to the pharmacologically blocked rats.

Additionally, when the team applied the same technique to rats with a normal, functioning hippocampus, the device actually strengthened the memory being generated internally in the brain to enhance their memory capability.

The researchers are now looking to duplicate the results in monkeys, with the aim of creating prostheses that can return long-term memory function to human victims of Alzeimer's disease, stroke or other types of brain injury.

The research team's paper entitled "A Cortical Neural Prosthesis for Restoring and Enhancing Memory," appears in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Russia tests 'Satan' class long-range missile ICBM

Russia has successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), opting to extend the lifespan of its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal.

The 112-foot missile, capable of carrying 10 warheads, was fired from the Orenburg district on Russia's frontiers with Kazakhstan. It struck its target, 4,000 miles away, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, Russian news agencies reported.

"Pre-launch operations, the launch and flight went strictly according to plan," a spokesman for Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, Col. Vadim Koval, was quoted saying by the Interfax news agency.

"The test hit the intended target area on the Kamchatka peninsula with astounding accuracy."

The 22-ton RS-20V missile is known within NATO as the "Satan" and has a range of about 10,000 miles.

"The launch was carried out as part of experimental construction work aimed at confirming the flight characteristics of the RS-20V missile and to extend its life span to 23 years," Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement.

Military officials quoted by local media said the missile was not carrying a nuclear warhead and that the United States had been informed of the tests, in compliance with bilateral agreements requiring notification of the missile testing.

The RS-20V, which has been in operation for more than 21 years, is widely revered by experts as the world's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile. Known as the Voyevoda, the missile was initially intended to be used for 15 years. By some accounts, Moscow wants to continue using the missiles until 2019.

"The extension of the lifespan of the Voyevoda to 25 years will allow us to extend its services by 10 years, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said.

Senior military officials quoted by The Times of India said Russia was developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile and would gradually decommission older versions in order to ensure nuclear safety.

Earlier this month, Russia's new nuclear-capable missile test launch failed over the White Sea, creating an eerie blue swirl in the sky that provoked hundreds of UFO sightings over Norway.

The failed test was an embarrassment for the Russians, who are bent on bolstering their deterrent force.

The Bulava missile can carry up to 10 individually targeted nuclear warheads and has a range of 5,000 miles. It is a sea-based version of Russia's land-based ballistic missile, the Topol-M, which the military has been using since 2006.