When astronauts do finally go to Mars, they'll be in for a tough time. High up on the adversity list is the high doses of solar radiation they'll receive on the long interplanetary voyage. Human DNA just isn't too keen on radiation, it has a nasty tendency to mutate and destroy itself, which is never a good thing. Our DNA is just too weak for extended periods in deep space.
But do you know what's extremely resistant to radiation? The tardigrade, the toughest little microorganism you'll ever see. If only there were some way to get the tardigrades to take the radiation for us.
They can't, sadly, but what we can do (potentially) is splice radiation-resistant tardigrade DNA into our own, granting us similar resistance. Of course, this is theoretical stuff right now, and even when we do acquire the technology to do so, genetically engineering human beings is a controversial idea. There are plenty of fictional works detailing the risks. But hey, it's still cool in theory.
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