Women better suited for long-term space travel?

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Brotha
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Women better suited for long-term space travel?

Post by Brotha »

You'd still want a man to pilot it though. If women can't even drive cars, they shouldn't be at the wheel of a space shuttle.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.c ... 1219133327
IF SPACE scientists had known better at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969, the mission’s defining legacy might have read "one small step for a woman, one giant leap for womankind".

New medical research has revealed that the mental and physical characteristics of women mean they are far better suited to long-term space travel than men. As a result, one medical expert has now claimed there is a very strong case for an all-female cosmonaut crew on the first mission to put humans on Mars.

William Rowe, a professor of medicine at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, in the United States, said: "A manned trip to the Red Planet should, in fact, be womanned."

Prof Rowe has published new research in the journal Mens Health and Gender, which focused on the hormonal and physical make-up of women under 30 years of age, and concludes that they are far better suited to long-term, long-distance travel than men.

In particular, men in their thirties and forties are much more likely to develop the first signs of heart disease, a condition exacerbated by space travel. Women are protected from this by their comparatively high levels of oestrogen.

Drug treatments during space flight are not recommended because they are not readily absorbed in weightless conditions, the liver and the kidneys do not function at their best and the drug compounds deteriorate more quickly owing to the higher levels of radiation experienced in space.

Men are also disadvantaged because they retain much higher levels of iron in the body than women, particularly in space, and this can reach toxic levels. Women’s reduced body mass, which requires fewer calories and produces less waste, also makes them yet more suitable as long-term astronauts.

There is one drawback to having an all-female crew, said Prof Rowe. They should avoid space walks during menstruation because of the increased risk at that time of decompression sickness, resulting from lower total blood volume.

Regardless of that risk, however, Prof Rowe remained adamant that women would be much better placed than men to take a trip to Mars, a mission with an expected duration of two years. He said: "The cards are stacked against man in space."

Britain’s first woman in space was Helen Sharman, who became an astronaut after responding to an advertisement which said: "Astronaut wanted - no experience necessary."

At the time she was a scientist researching into the chemical and physical properties of chocolate for Mars confectionery in Slough. In May 1991, after intensive training, she joined a crew of male Soviet cosmonauts on an eight-day Anglo-Soviet Juno space mission. Her job on the Mir space station was to carry out 20 scientific experiments dealing with biology, Earth observation, the growth of crystals and the effects of space on the body.

The first female leader of a space mission was Eileen Collins, a US Air Force colonel, who commanded the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1999.

Dr Didier Schmitt, the head of life sciences at the European Space Agency, said: "From documented experiences on the Russian Mir Space Station, it is correct that for long-term missions with an all female crew, astronauts do perform extremely well. Having females in a group is very positive because it breaks down the competition within the male group.

"We have now shifted from research on men over to women for the next year. We are conducting experiments on human physiology under conditions of 60 days bed rest at minus six degrees, and now we have finished the tests on men we are about to carry out the same research on women to see if they react the same way.

"It will provide either further evidence to corroborate this story, or it could even reveal results which are completely at odds with it."
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Post by Lalanae »

Women are better drivers according to statistics and insurance companies.
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Re: Women better suited for long-term space travel?

Post by Lohrno »

Brotha wrote:You'd still want a man to pilot it though. If women can't even drive cars, they shouldn't be at the wheel of a space shuttle.
That registers about a 4 on the troll scale.

Here in the southwest I can honestly say that there are few good drivers, men or women.

Seems women are the better astronauts though. That's not surprising.

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Post by Lohrno »

Lalanae wrote:Women are better drivers according to statistics and insurance companies.
From my experience I've seen that just about every time I see something very stupid or I get cut off, it's a woman driving. The other 90% of the time when I see the normal stupidity, it's men. This is not the case in NJ though.

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Post by Winnow »

Why did the Challenger blow up?
-because there were two cracks on board.

Tasteless joke of the week.
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Post by Chidoro »

Lalanae wrote:Women are better drivers according to statistics and insurance companies.
HIJACK!

Actually, most states have adopted gender neutral rates over the last 10 years as the average exposure began to level.

Morons, the whole lot of them!

Cut me off and, women become F'ing C's, heavy-set people become Fat Fucks, and thinning hair gentlemen become Bald Bastards! And don't even get me started on racial epitaphs, I'm surprised my windshield hasn't warped w/ all of the morons in NJ.
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Post by Zaelath »

Lalanae wrote:Women are better drivers according to statistics and insurance companies.
Nah, women are just better insurance risks, because they don't drive as often or as far (in general). Old people are pretty good insurance risks too, and we all know how great their driving is! :)
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Post by Lohrno »

Chidoro wrote: I'm surprised my windshield hasn't warped w/ all of the morons in NJ.
They drive worse here!!! (and another exclamation point added for emphasis)

I lived in the Princeton Area and have driven around many places in NJ (Freehold, Newark, New Brunswick, AC, etc.) I now live in SoCal (San Diego Area) I authoritatively can state that NJ drivers are better.

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Post by Raistin »

Why did the Challenger blow up?
-because there were two cracks on board.

What were the teacher's last words before it blew up?

" What does this button do?"
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Post by Kelshara »

Here in Ohio it seems men in their 50s are the worse when the weather is good (wearing business suits etc), women drive very slow when it snows and SUVs are usually found in the ditch.
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Post by Lalanae »

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_901861.html?menu=
Women drivers are better than men according to the results of one of the biggest ever studies of the driving habits of the two sexes.

The team from the Vienna-based Organisation for Road Safety concluded in its study of thousands of accidents across Europe that "women drive better than men".

Of all road accidents, less than 35% were caused by women.

The study authors also found that in the younger age group the difference was especially marked, as younger male drivers tended to overestimate themselves, while women were more careful.

On average they had 25% fewer accidents.

And in addition to having fewer accidents, those involving females were usually less serious and the injuries usually less as the women had more often than not been driving slower, and more often wore seat belts.
90% of the time I see a reckless driver or an asshole driver it's a man.
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Post by Lalanae »

Zaelath wrote: Nah, women are just better insurance risks, because they don't drive as often or as far (in general).
I don't buy that at all.
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Post by Zaelath »

Lalanae wrote:
Zaelath wrote: Nah, women are just better insurance risks, because they don't drive as often or as far (in general).
I don't buy that at all.
I've never known a man that is night blind but drives at night anyway..

I've never known a man that has driven 500 kilometers at 170 KPH on tires speed rated to 140 KPH with no concept that tires even have a speed rating.

Agreed men are more agressive, but women seem more unaware of their vehicles and their surroundings. Also women seem to cause a lot of accidents they're not actually "involved" in.
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Post by Aslanna »

Women are more suited for long-term space travel because when they get lost around Betelgeuse they will stop and ask for directions.
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Post by Chidoro »

Lalanae wrote:http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_901861.html?menu=
Women drivers are better than men according to the results of one of the biggest ever studies of the driving habits of the two sexes.

The team from the Vienna-based Organisation for Road Safety concluded in its study of thousands of accidents across Europe that "women drive better than men".

Of all road accidents, less than 35% were caused by women.

The study authors also found that in the younger age group the difference was especially marked, as younger male drivers tended to overestimate themselves, while women were more careful.

On average they had 25% fewer accidents.

And in addition to having fewer accidents, those involving females were usually less serious and the injuries usually less as the women had more often than not been driving slower, and more often wore seat belts.
90% of the time I see a reckless driver or an asshole driver it's a man.
Heh, sounds like a reputable and unbiased report.
Being a former actuary (but still a SOA fellow) , I can tell you that exposure=incidents, regardless of gender over the broad spectrum of samples. It also it indiscriminant of gender on the most recent tables I've had access to.

It's a dead heat. Your mileage may vary depending on what you see, but if it's not based on sound actuarial priciples(especially for data as long and as collected as these), it's probably not a sound judgment.

You've witnessed male driver assholes.
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It still doesn't mean any particular gender is better/worse
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Post by Winnow »

Women handle pocket rockets well so why not other rockets? There may be something to this.
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Post by Toshira »

Aslanna wrote:Women are more suited for long-term space travel because when they get lost around Betelgeuse they will stop and ask for directions.
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Post by Rekaar. »

Your "news story" doesn't even cite a source =p
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Post by Kaldaur »

That's alright, Rekaar. The name of the website is the scotsman. If he's a scot, he doesn't need sources. I give my word, as a scotsman, that whatever he says is valid.
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Post by *~*stragi*~* »

you should tell that to the bitch speeding through a yellow light at 70 mph hitting me head on totalling my new truck when ALL THE OTHER CARS IN HER LANE HAD STOPPED. I wish I had a camera phone when that happened, you guys coulda saw what internal bleeding looked like!
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Post by Aslanna »

If it was internal bleeding we wouldn't be able to see it!
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Post by Winnow »

Kaldaur wrote:That's alright, Rekaar. The name of the website is the scotsman.
and people made fun of The Bandit!
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Post by archeiron »

Aslanna wrote:If it was internal bleeding we wouldn't be able to see it!
Bruises (internal bleeding) are never visible????! :P
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Post by Aslanna »

Bruises don't count.
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Post by *~*stragi*~* »

it was pretty cool, it looked like i had a six pack of tbone's on my stomach, except a lot redder
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Post by Kelgar »

Lalanae wrote:Women are better drivers according to statistics and insurance companies.
Men are more likely to drive like reckless dickwads. Skill is an entirely different matter. Difference in driving atitude != difference in driving skill.
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