More resistant to radiation, women will be better able to travel to space and colonize Mars

European Space Agency (ESA) recently launched a recruitment campaign Mainly with women, and many scientists seem to agree that parity would be very beneficial. Most of the astronauts we know today are men. In fact, women represent only 10% of the space world.

What if, in fact, women would be just as efficient at space as men, if not more? A recent scientific study showed that male mice exposed to radiation from space exhibit poorer learning compared to females.

Females are more comfortable in space than males

Researchers, with the help NASA, I decided to expose a dozen mice to a lot of radiation. Mice were differentiated by gender, male or female. Meanwhile, he found that the radiation is ten times higher than in international space stations like the one he’s driving Thomas Bisket. In this study, researchers looked at anxiety, memory, social communication, and learning in mice.

Among the tests carried out, one involved placing the rats in a pool of cloudy water, where there is a platform that the rodents must reach. To achieve this, there were many clues and criteria in the pond.

At the end of this test, the researchers realized that male rats exposed to radiation learned less quickly. In fact, these had more difficulty finding the platform than the others, suggesting in particular that males will have more difficulty finding their way into space. In addition, radiation from space may also cause memory deficits in males.. In fact, the rat brain, very similar to the human brain, will be more affected in the latter than in females.

After several months of exposure, the researchers took samples to monitor the effect of the radiation over a longer period. according to Jocelyn Capucci, a neuroscientist and director of research at CNRS, “We are discovering the development of certain molecules in the brain, but also the different immune reactions. It is very interesting”.

Do women see themselves as special in upcoming space missions?

Based on the results of this study, we note that Women will be more resistant Radiation stress. Anyway, with our rodent friends, the hypothesis was confirmed. But today it is impossible to say that such differences are observed in humans. The neuroscientist explains that For such a trip, there are other events to take into account such as distance from families, isolation… Not everyone reacts in the same way. ».

However, this study is the subject of much controversy in the scientific community. In fact, according to Nicholas Foray, a radiobiologist and director of research atInserm, the radiation the mice were exposed to would not really be true to the radiation found in space. According to him, the results of the study will be true in the case of a naked man without protection.

Rodents are three times more resistant to radiation than humans. Such radiation would equate to a human “whole body” radiotherapy session, but not equal to that in space. In addition, a radiobiologist says “High doses men and women are equal in the face of radiation”. Although its results are not unanimous among the scientific community, we can perhaps hope that it will be the first step on the way Mars will be a woman.