one of the things that we need to figure out for long distance/duration space flight is the effect 0g has on bone density. long duration 0g causes significant bone density loss as well as increasing height a couple inches due to the expansion of your spine and other hilarious effects on the human body. well there is now evidence that just taking osteoporosis drugs can prevent a significant amount of loss. in weightlessness, an astronaut who exercises regularly still loses 5-7% of their bone density in 6 months. recent tests on the ISS has shown that taking the drugs can reduce the bone density loss to almost nothing. that is quite a finding! our thanks should go to the first test subject who volunteered. this astronaut was the japanese astronaut Wakata. thank you wakata-san!
read here for more details:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111205005649.htm (blurb)
more info:
http://www.jaxa.jp/article/special/expedition/matsumoto01_e.htmlthe two largest and most massive black holes yet discovered have been announced by scientists. the size of these monsters makes my anus twinge, seriously massive. read about it here and then hide in your closet!
http://io9.com/5865474/astronomers-have-discovered-the-two-most-massive-black-holes-in-the-universe