Worms in space? A model biological dosimeter.

Although it is well known that radiation causes mutational damage, little is known about the biological effects of long-term exposure to radiation in space. Exposure to radiation can result in serious heritable defects in experimental animals, and in humans, susceptibility to cancer, radiation-sickness, and death at high dosages. It is possible to do ground controlled studies of different types of radiation on experimental animals and to physically measure radiation on the space station or on space probes. However, the actual biological affects of long-term exposure to the full range of space radiation have not been studied, and little information is available about the biological consequences of solar flares. Biological systems are not simply passive recording instruments. They respond differently under different conditions, and thus it is important to be able to collect data from a living animal. There are technical difficulties that restrict the placement of an experimental organism in a space environment for long periods of time, in a manner that allows for the recovery of genetic data. Use of the self-fertilizing hermaphroditic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans offers potential for the design of a biological dosimeter. In this paper, we describe the advantages of this model system and review the literature of C. elegans in space.