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Published online 9 February 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news040202-18

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Doll tests radiation in space

Life-sized mannequin will measure an astronaut’s cosmic-ray dose.

Researchers have long been aware that radiation in space is a problem, thanks to energetic particles called cosmic rays that are left over from the Big Bang. Earth's magnetic field stops us from being bombarded by these rays, but astronauts in space have little to protect them.

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