Science & Technology
Scientists document how space travel messes with the human brain

Space can be an unfriendly place for the human body, with microgravity conditions and other factors tampering with our physiology, from head to toe – head, of course, being a primary concern.
A new NASA-funded study provides a deeper understanding of the issue. Researchers said on Thursday that astronauts who traveled on the International Space Station (ISS) or NASA space shuttles on missions lasting at least six months experienced significant expansion of the cerebral ventricles – spaces in the middle of the brain containing cerebrospinal fluid, Reuters reported.
This colorless and watery fluid flows in and around the brain and spinal cord. It cushions the brain to help protect against sudden impact and removes waste products.
Based on brain scans of 30 astronauts, the researchers found that it took three years for the ventricles to fully recover after such journeys, suggesting that an interval of at least that duration would be advisable between longer space missions.
“If the ventricles don’t have sufficient time to recover between back-to-back missions, this may impact the brain’s ability to cope with fluid shifts in microgravity. For example, if the ventricles are already enlarged from a previous mission, they may be less compliant and/or have less space to expand and accommodate fluid shifts during the next mission,” said University of Florida neuroscientist Heather McGregor, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Age-related ventricular enlargement – caused not by microgravity but by brain atrophy – can be associated with cognitive decline.
“The impact of ventricular expansion in space travelers is not currently known. More long-term health follow-up is needed. This ventricular expansion likely compresses the surrounding brain tissue,” University of Florida applied physiology and kinesiology professor and study senior author Rachael Seidler said.
The absence of Earth’s gravity modifies the brain.
“This seems to be a mechanical effect,” Seidler said. “On Earth, our vascular systems have valves that prevent all of our fluids from pooling at our feet due to gravity. In microgravity, the opposite occurs – fluids shift toward the head. This headward fluid shift likely results in ventricular expansion, and the brain sits higher within the skull.”
The study involved 23 male and seven female astronauts – average age around 47 – from the U.S., Canadian and European space agencies. Eight traveled on space shuttle missions of about two weeks. Eighteen were on ISS missions of about six months and four on ISS missions of about a year.
Little to no ventricular volume change occurred in astronauts after short missions. Enlargement occurred in astronauts after missions of six months or longer, though there was no difference in those who flew for six months compared to those who did so for a year.
“This suggests that the majority of ventricle enlargement happens during the first six months in space, then begins to taper off around the one-year mark,” McGregor said.
The fact that enlargement did not worsen after six months could be good news for future Mars missions on which astronauts may spend two years in microgravity during the journey.
“This preliminary finding is promising for astronaut brain health during long-duration missions, but it’s still important that we examine MRI data from a larger group of astronauts and following even longer missions,” McGregor said.
The absence of enlargement following short flights was good news for people who may consider short space tourism jaunts, Seidler added, as that industry develops.
Microgravity conditions also cause other physiological effects due to the reduced physical load on the human body. These include bone and muscle atrophy, cardiovascular changes, issues with the balance system in the inner ear and a syndrome involving the eyes. Elevated cancer risk from the greater exposure to solar radiation that astronauts may encounter the further they travel from Earth is another concern.
Science & Technology
‘Massive cyberattack’ brings down Elon Musk’s X
Digital Trends reported Tuesday that there are reports suggesting X is still having issues

Social media platform X went down intermittently on Monday, with owner Elon Musk blaming an unusually powerful cyberattack.
“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved,” Musk said in a post on X on Monday.
He did not clarify exactly what he meant by “a lot of resources” and his comments drew skepticism from cybersecurity specialists, who pointed out that attacks of this nature — called denials of service — have repeatedly been executed by small groups or individuals.
X faced intermittent outages, according to Downdetector, Reuters reported.
Digital Trends meanwhile reported Tuesday that there are reports suggesting X is still having issues.
Internet industry experts have said X was hit by several waves of ‘denial of service’ throughout Monday.
Musk said in an interview with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow the cyberattack came from IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.
An industry source told Reuters he disputed Musk’s account, saying that large chunks of the rogue traffic bombarding X could be traced back to IP addresses in the United States, Vietnam, Brazil and other countries, and that the amount of rogue traffic coming directly from Ukraine was “insignificant.”
In any case, denial of service attacks are notoriously hard to trace back to their authors and the IP addresses involved rarely provide any meaningful insight into who was behind them, Reuters reported.
Musk has joined U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he serves as an adviser, in criticizing Ukraine’s continued efforts to fight off a Russian invasion.
Musk said on Sunday that Ukraine’s front line “would collapse” without his Starlink satellite communications service, though he said he would not cut off Ukraine’s access to it.
Science & Technology
NASA says ‘city killer’ asteroid has a 3.1 % chance of striking Earth in 2032
Despite the rising odds, experts say there is no need for alarm

An asteroid that could level a city now has a 3.1-percent chance of striking Earth in 2032, according to NASA data released Tuesday — making it the most threatening space rock ever recorded by modern forecasting.
Despite the rising odds, experts say there is no need for alarm. The global astronomical community is closely monitoring the situation and the James Webb Space Telescope is set to fix its gaze on the object, known as 2024 YR4, next month.
“I’m not panicking,” Bruce Betts, chief scientist for the nonprofit Planetary Society told AFP.
“Naturally when you see the percentages go up, it doesn’t make you feel warm and fuzzy and good,” he added, but explained that as astronomers gather more data, the probability will likely edge up before rapidly dropping to zero.
2024 YR4 was first detected on December 27 last year by the El Sauce Observatory in Chile.
Astronomers estimate its size to be between 130 and 300 feet (40–90 meters) wide, based on its brightness. Analysis of its light signatures suggests it has a fairly typical composition, rather than being a rare metal-rich asteroid.
The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), a worldwide planetary defense collaboration, issued a warning memo on January 29 after the impact probability had crossed one percent. Since then, the figure has fluctuated but continues to trend upward.
NASA’s latest calculations estimate the impact probability at 3.1 percent, up from 1.6 percent last month, with a potential Earth impact date of December 22, 2032.
Richard Moissl, head of the European Space Agency’s planetary defense office, which puts the risk slightly lower at 2.8 percent told AFP that this “is not a crisis at this point in time. This is not the dinosaur killer. This is not the planet killer. This is at most dangerous for a city.”
If the risk rises over 10 percent, IAWN would issue a formal warning, leading to a “recommendation for all UN members who have territories in potentially threatened areas to start terrestrial preparedness,” explained Moissl.
Unlike the six-mile-wide (10-kilometer-wide) asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, 2024 YR4 is classified as a “city killer” — not a global catastrophe, but still capable of causing significant destruction.
Its potential devastation comes less from its size and more from its velocity, which could be nearly 40,000 miles per hour if it hits.
If it enters Earth’s atmosphere, the most likely scenario is an airburst, meaning it would explode midair with a force of approximately eight megatons of TNT — more than 500 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb.
But an impact crater cannot be ruled out if the size is closer to the higher end of estimates, said Betts.
The potential impact corridor spans the eastern Pacific, northern South America, the Atlantic, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia — though Moissl emphasized it is far too early for people to consider drastic decisions like relocation.
The good news: there’s ample time to act.
NASA’s 2022 DART mission proved that spacecraft can successfully alter an asteroid’s path, and scientists have theorized other methods, such as using lasers to create thrust by vaporizing part of the surface, pulling it off course with a spacecraft’s gravity, or even using nuclear explosions as a last resort. — Agence France-Presse
Science & Technology
Panjshir will soon be connected to national fiber optic network
The statement said that this project covers a 36-kilometer route from Gulbahar to Bazarak, and the districts of Shatal, Anaba and Rukha will also benefit from fiber optic services.

The Panjshir provincial media office said in a statement on Wednesday, February 1 that practical work was to connect the province to fiber optic will begin within the next month.
The statement said that this project covers a 36-kilometer route from Gulbahar to Bazarak, and the districts of Shatal, Anaba and Rukha will also benefit from fiber optic services.
The statement added that the project is being implemented by Afghan Wireless, Afghan Telecom and ICG companies as a result of the efforts of the Panjshir provincial administration and the special attention of the leadership of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
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