Wanted: 24 women to spend 60 days in bed at a crooked angle, their every
movement scrutinised by video.
No, this is not the latest reality TV programme, but a hi-tech research
project conducted by scientists at the European Space Agency.
They want to anticipate the medical problems that may arise as space
missions go further and last longer.
Volunteers will be paid 15,200 euros (=A310,000) to spend two months on
a bed tilted backwards at a six degree angle.
They will be expected to live in isolation in the MEDES medical research
centre in Toulouse in France for 101 days in total, including three
weeks at either end of the "bed-rest".
The experiment is designed to replicate weightlessness. Similar tests
have been carried out on men, but scientists are short of data on women.
The successful candidates will be between 25 and 40, of good health and
fitness and fluent in English or French.
Motivation is important, says Peter Jost, the European Space Agency
(ESA) scientist leading the experiment.
"A hundred and one days is of course very difficult," he told BBC News
Online.
The guinea-pigs are allowed books, TV, music and internet access, but
the only face-to-face contact they have will be with doctors overseeing
the experiment.
"People miss family, friends and children," he said.
Besides the physical effects - a swollen face, blocked nose, twinges and
aches, muscle wastage and loss of bone mass - the experiments will be
mentally very tough, Mr Jost says.
Psychological tests
"But on the other hand, people are motivated because they are
contributing to space science. Some are very enthusiastic - they may be
amateur astronomers or interested in space flight."
He said it was a "good opportunity to get involved" in a space
programme.
Plenty of people are obviously convinced.
The ESA says more than 50 people applied within two days of the
recruitment campaign being launched.
The selection procedure begins with a 17-page questionnaire, before a
medical examination, blood tests, and interview, followed by a
psychological assessment to make sure the candidate can stay the course.
The 24 successful candidates will begin the experiment in Toulouse in
January.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3539340.stm
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Sounds like pure torture!
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