Posted on 07/12/2016 5:55:08 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Space does plenty of whacky things to astronauts' bodies, like deteriorating their muscle mass and making them on average 5 centimeters (2 inches) taller.
But scientists have uncovered another, more subtle side effect — space is totally ruining astronauts' perfect eyesight.
In fact, 80 percent of astronauts who come back from long-duration missions display symptoms of a mysterious eye condition that causes nearsightedness, Shayla Love reports for The Washington Post.
While it's a myth that all astronauts have to have natural 20/20 vision (they're allowed to have corrective laser surgery) by the time they launch, their vision does need to be flawless — so this problem could be a big issue for future human spaceflight missions, like the one hoping to get humans to Mars by the 2030s.
So what's causing all the vision problems? John Phillips, who was on board the International Space Station in 2005, was the first to notice the condition.
Throughout his time in orbit his vision suffered - although not enough to let mission control know about it - and when doctors tested him on his return to Earth, they found his vision had deteriorated from 20/20 to 20/100 during his six months in space.
Not only that, but his tests showed that his eyes had actually changed as well.
"The backs of his eyes had gotten flatter, pushing his retinas forward. He had choroidal folds, which are like stretch marks. His optic nerves were inflamed," reports Love.
NASA initially thought it was an isolated case, until they found evidence that the majority of astronauts had suffered some kind of vision problems while in space, or upon their return.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Duh!
Could it possibly be that our Creator engineered our bodies for the exact gravity of earth - and did not engineer it to function the same without that gravity?
Oh, yeah! It was evolution that did it.......right..........just like your iPhone evolved.......
Here is a good reason.
As long as we are confined to just one planet we are vulnerable to a passing rock smashing into us.
If those billions had been spent on water projects, highway projects, rapid transit, electrical grids, etc....where would we be now?
Not as advanced as we are now.
The money probably could have been spent in a better fashion causing a lot of more people to be employed on worthwhile projects.
Doubtful. In fact probably flat out wrong.
One of the things causing our technological decline is the removal of anything to strive for.
Humans are at their best and brightest under pressure.
lol. How true.
There are a lot of spinoffs from the space program.
Every been in a hospital? Those heart monitors are spinoffs from the early days of space flight.
When I lived in Santa Barbara many years ago, there was a wildfire in the foothills above the city. Two firemen and their truck were surrounded by flames. The men had a thin, metallic fireproof blanket with them. They crawled under the blanket; the flames went right over them. The two firemen were not harmed, but their truck was destroyed.
That metallic blanket was a spinoff of the space program, and saved the lives of those two men.
These are just a few spinoffs of the space program.
In the not-too-distant future, there will be mining operations on asteroids and on the moon. The Chinese are making plans to do just that.
My thought as well.
Hmmm, I did not go to space, but got same disease.
My eyesight has changed, I have to wear trifocals.
I would not let some laser schmuck touch my eyes.
I searched a little for visual impairment intercranial pressure and the NASA website said that the condition could last for years. Which seems to indicate that the problem can correct itself.
Did you read the article? It said a 2 liter bottles worth of fluid in your brain. Ouch! I have a headache just thinking about it.
1 year of NASA budget is about 1/10th of current cost of our probably never to be completed “high speed rail project”. I’ll take cheaper cool pictures and cheese in a spray can over that any day...
I’ve had Lasix (about 6 yrs. ago). I have to be aware and
drink enough water and other liquids during the day. If I
don’t, my eyes get dry. (Am not sure the Lasix caused it
or not.) At any rate, DRINK ENOUGH LIQUIDS!
Here is astronaut Jane after getting back from space.
http://unclemilton.com/photos/Bug_Eye_large_image.jpg
Sightism! Blind Lives Matter!
#11 If those billions had been spent on water projects, highway projects, rapid transit, electrical grids, etc....where would we be now?
We would have the same potholes and bad bridges etc.
To maintain equilibrium your physiology compensates for earth’s gravity, without that gravity equilibrium is lost & you get excess fluids and pressures in your head.
They just don’t care!
That’s physically impossible. Whoever wrote the article misunderstood what they were being told.
The total volume of the average human skull is 1450 cc and it’s a closed box except for a few small holes and the foramen magnum at the base.
The contents inside is the brain+ blood+ intracranial fluid.
2 liters is 2000cc. See the problem with the story as written?
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