Radiation

Stem cell transplants to treat blood cancers can be a risky process. In a new study in mice, researchers found a way to make the process safer by targeting a patient’s faulty stem cells more precisely, removing the need for radiation or chemotherapy.

Scientists have made an intriguing discovery that could see radiation therapy become a less invasive treatment for heart arrhythmia. The technique seems to activate the heart cells to revert to a younger state and repair the tissue.

A new study has shown how tumors that have gone "cold" due to a lack of key immune cells can be heated up through a carefully managed dose of radiation, drawing in fresh immune cells that can take up the fight from within.

An international team of scientists has calculated that a crewed mission to Mars should only last a maximum of four years if the astronauts' health isn't to be endangered by prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation.

Radiotherapy is one of the best treatments we have against cancer, but there's room for improvement. Now, researchers in Japan have developed nanoparticles that can penetrate tumors and kill them from within, after being activated by external X-rays.

Astronomers have detected the highest-energy light ever seen. Hundreds of gamma rays were detected with ultra-high energies, with the most powerful signals crossing the Peta-electronvolt threshold – much higher than thought possible in our galaxy.

Astronauts enduring long-periods in space may be in danger of experiencing a range of adverse health problems, but new research in zebrafish has demonstrated how induced hibernation may help limit the risk posed by radiation.

A very small pilot study has found several treatments of low-dose radiation, delivered from a CT scanner, could increase alertness and responsiveness in people suffering severe late-stage Alzheimer’s disease. However, the research is still preliminary.

Fresh research has cast doubt on the theory that energetic outbursts from young stars blows away the cocoon of gas from which they formed, which in turn prevents them from growing any further.

Giving a new meaning to the word "moonshine," NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have concluded that Jupiter's moon Europa glows in the dark due to being constantly bombarded with high-energy radiation.

We know radiation therapy for cancer is an aggressively toxic treatment methodology. New research suggests certain gut bacteria species may protect an organism from the harmful effects of radiation, and human trials are planned to test these findings.

Radiation is a major danger of space travel, and with human crews heading back to the Moon it’s important to understand the risks. Now we have the clearest data on that to date, thanks to an instrument onboard the Chinese lunar lander Chang’e-4.