Guest: Dr. William (Bill) Rowe. Topics: Space medicine, magnesium, calcium & astronaut heart problems, oxidative stress & exercise protocols in space. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed back Dr. Bill Rowe to further discuss certain aspects of human spaceflight (HSF) and space medicine. Please note that all Space Show programs are educational programs. This particular interview with Dr. Rowe is no exception. As an educational program, Dr. Rowe, at the end of the interview, offered to respond to your serious comments & questions posted on the blog and said you could email him through his website, www.femsinspace.com. Unlike most space medicine discussions, Dr. Rowe goes into lots of details on several key issues. I have no doubt that some of you will reject, challenge, and not like what you hear. Some of you will take issue with Dr. Rowe & be critical of this program. You might even see him as being negative though that is not the case, but he is definitely scientific. I urge you to discuss disagreements, challenges, & issues with him. Civility is the only requirement. During our first hour of this nearly 2.5 hour discussion, Dr. Rowe started out by going over astronaut cardiac issues, referring to former astronauts Jim Irwin & Dave Scott on Apollo 15 pertaining to issues with Irwin's hear rate. The articles he mentions on his website are in the upper left hand corner of the home page. Dr. Rowe then segmented into the first of many magnesium discussions & oxidative stress, using his submarine analog, (www.femsinspace.com/Oxidative_stress.htm. Microgravity exercise routines were discussed along with the need to get rid of excessive body heat. Dr. Rowe had much to say about the inadequacy of current on orbit exercise routines & heat. He also talked about plasma leakage, the loss of magnesium, & what this does in space. Also in this segment, he went over the Chinese Taikonaut requirements for female crew members, making the case for an all female crew. Don't miss what he had to say about this. Our last topic in this segment was 1G and artificial gravity. In our second longer segment, Dr. Rowe talked about recent studies pertaining to calcium usage & he brought this home to HSF. We talked about the importance of the calcium-magnesium ratio. Caller John introduced us to the issue of Vit. D3 & calcium. Tim called to make some good points about artificial gravity in terms of needed data points. He did not agree with the all female crew suggestion. Next, Dr. Rowe talked about the gastrointestinal lining, iron, & bone issues in space. Dr. Rowe also referred to anthropological studies to see how some groups habits might positively impact skeletal muscle issues in space. Issues with high adrenalin levels were discussed throughout the program along with possible treatment/intervention tools. At the end, we learned that resolving these complex issues is not just a matter of more money. I also asked Dr. Rowe about private Mars missions & one way trips with private crews ignoring space medicine factors. He called them dreamers but in the end if they want to go knowing the risks, they should be able to go. Dr. Rowe said his research & comments were focused on scientific HSF missions, not the dreamer type missions we often hear & read about in the media. Post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Rowe through his website.
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