Jim Kingdon wrote:" Doesn't sound like a very fun study to participate
in. Then again, people are willing to get infected by colds in cold
studies, so I guess this isn't necessarily worse than that. All in the
name of science..."

Yes, im not sure how many people have responded and applied for the
study, (I know Im not up for it, not to into roller coaters) but for
anybody who is into roller coasters and science the application for
volunteers can be found at

http://www.bedreststudy.com/Apply.aspx


Here is a link to Dr. Cohen's research, into understanding how the
spinning artificial gravity counter measure will affect humans during
long term space travel. Studies by scientists like Dr. Cohen, are about
the effects long term exposure in a spinning artificial gravity will
have on the human body, and is necessary for us to by design a manned
interplanetary space craft with the countermeasure of a spinning 1g
artificial gravity and perform safe and successful manned
interplanetary missions were our astronauts can return to a normal life
on earth.

http://exploration.nasa.gov/articles...nggravity.html
"February 7, 2003 : Want to know what 3-g feels like?
The Pull of Hypergravity
By spinning people in a giant centrifuge for 22 hours at a time, a NASA
researcher is learning more about the strange effects of artificial
gravity on humans...
During the past few summers, Cohen has been spinning research subjects
in something far more impressive than a carnival ride. He's been
studying engineers, mountain climbers, teachers and other paid
volunteers as they live for up to 22 hours in a giant, 58-foot diameter
centrifuge. His goal? To learn how humans adjust to changes in
gravity--particularly strong gravity.
NASA is interested because it's not just microgravity that astronauts
experience in space. They're exposed to hypergravity, too: up to 3.2-g
at launch, and about 1.4-g on reentry. "Under these conditions," Cohen
points out, "fluid weighs more." The heart has to change the way it
operates, pumping faster, and working harder to push the blood all the
way to the brain. This could cause astronauts to become dizzy or even,
in extreme cases, to pass out.
By spinning people in his centrifuge, Cohen hopes to learn whether the
heart's response can be conditioned. Perhaps if astronauts were exposed
to controlled doses of hypergravity before launch or reentry, then they
might be able to tolerate high g forces better than they otherwise
would have... The participants in Cohen's study have to be less than
5'8" tall--that's because the outer dimensions of the centrifuge cabin
are only 7'7" deep by 5'11" wide. "With its padded walls, the subjects
barely have enough room to lie down on the cabin's built-in cot," he
explains. The cramped cabin is outfitted with a toilet, a TV, and a
laptop loaded with computer games, tests and questionnaires. While
they're spinning, participants answer questions about stress, fatigue
and motion sickness; they perform complex reasoning tasks; and their
vital signs, head movements, and general activity are monitored by
sensors and cameras.
Artificial gravity is a potentially useful tool," notes Cohen, "but
it's not a universal panacea." Centrifugal force is not exactly the
same as gravity, he explains. If you have a small centrifuge--say, one
that might fit in a spaceship--you have to spin it pretty fast to
create g levels high enough to be effective. But there's a problem:
across the radius of a small centrifuge, g levels change rapidly.
"Suppose you're lying on a short-radius centrifuge, with your head near
the center, and your feet at the outside, and suppose you have 1-g at
your feet. Your head would feel only about 0.2-g, or even less." That's
not quite what you would experience in Earth's gravitational field!
Rapid spinning creates another concern: if you move your head too
quickly while you're inside a fast-moving centrifuge, you might feel
uncomfortably like you're tumbling head over heels. This can happen
when balance-sensing fluids in the semicircular canals of your inner
ear become "confused." Some experiments using centrifuges often include
devices that fix the subjects' heads in place, just to prevent that
illusion. Traveling through space, however, with your head fixed in
place is not practical.
Cohen ticks off ways to make centrifugal gravity feasible:
Perhaps engineers could develop a centrifuge with a radius of several
kilometers, large enough to generate high artificial gravity without
rotating fast enough to trigger the tumbling illusion. Rather than
using small onboard centrifuges, space travelers might slowly rotate
their entire spaceships instead.
Alternately, perhaps subjects could be taught to adapt to a rotating
environment. The brain is unaccountably good at interpreting strange
sensations after they're been around for a while. Witness the way
astronauts can be disoriented when they first arrive in space, but soon
learn to function in a weightless environment. If humans are spun for
long enough, says Cohen, the strange effects of rotation might become
familiar.
For now, though, Cohen is still trying to determine how different kinds
of activities done in hypergravity affect cardiovascular conditioning.
Cohen found that his centrifuge riders spent a lot of time lying down,
in part because it was more comfortable, and in part because spinning
made them drowsy--an effect called "the sopite syndrome." Cohen noted
that he was surprised at how strong it was. Going forward, he'd like to
examine what happens when they perform a range of predetermined
activities, such as standing, in which the g-force places more stress
on the heart.
Much more research remains to be done. "There are so many options for
how best to implement hypergravity most effectively," says Cohen. "Low
intensity for long durations, high intensity for short durations, short
radius centrifuges, rotating an entire spaceship." We know a lot, he
says, but there's much more to learn. It is, after all, a weighty
subject.""

tom