Guest: Erik Seedhouse. Topics: Erik's latest book, "Beyond Human: Engineering Our Future Evolution," & human modification for long duration spaceflight. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience. We welcomed Erik Seedhouse back to the program to discuss his latest book "Beyond Human: Engineering Our Future Evolution." During the first segment of our 90 minute program, Erik talked about long duration spaceflight and critical issues in radiation and microgravity that he believes may force changes or modifications in humans in order to survive the trips and live on Mars or another celestial location. He also talked about changes here on Earth such as advances in bioprinting, especially for organs. Our guest spent lots of time on the radiation challenges, shielding, and the need for possible genetic modification. Another point he made was for nuclear propulsion to cut the travel time to Mars and other locals down and make the voyage safer. His favorite advanced propulsion system was Vasimr. Dr. Rowe called in and brought up his concerns with the cardiovascular (CV) system in space, a subject Bill has talked about on many Space Show programs. Erik's research did not focus on the CV system so he was unable to comment on what Dr. Rowe was discussing. Next, Erik spoke about muscle atrophy and other microgravity challenges and suggested human modification would address those areas as well. He also talked about animal and human cloning, then a listener brought up a subject from our recent open lines program re pregnancy, childbirth, and kids in space. Erik suggested there might be sterilization as a requirement or abortive medication on board. I commented that this would cause a firestorm with the public, especially on publicly financed missions. In our second segment, our lead off topic was a Posthuman/Transhuman future. Erik cited examples and also used the classic movie Gattaca as an example. Listener Paul sent in an email about the ethics behind what Erik was talking about. Erik was asked about the lifespan of humans that might live on Mars or the Moon, then Ben asked if long duration spaceflight and humans in space were an economic driver for human genetic engineering. Erik said no, that it was a very small part of the industry with organ printing as one of the major drivers. Todd inquired about exercise and this led Erik to talk about genetic screening to select the most qualified people for the spaceflight missions. As we neared the end of the show, Erik told us about his next book about expeditions, then he talked about Virgin Galactic and XCOR. Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog. You can reach Erik through me. Also, when buying the book, use the Amazon OGLF portal so Amazon will contribute to The Space Show.
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