Antiradiation Drugs a Reality? Options

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http://medheadlines.com/2008/04/11/new-dru...diation-damage/

Interesting possible applications for a manned Mars flight, to say nothing of the possibilities for eventual human exploration of the Jovian moons...worth watching for future developments.

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If it pans out, one immediate application I can see is post-solar flare or strong gamma ray burst prophylaxis for a crew enroute between planets. DNA damage is a given anyhow after such events; makes sense to minimize at least one risk.

It's not enough to permit anyone to walk on Io someday, though. That's gonna take something like a radiation-blocking 'force field', probably combined with some sort of drug therapy just to survive the experience itself. I wouldn't sell the unfortunate person(s) a life insurance policy afterwards.