Sex in space tough, says Nasa - Telegraph

Sex in space tough, says Nasa - Telegraph: "Researchers at the agency's Ames Research Centre in California found that without effective shielding on spacecraft, powerful proton particles would probably sterilise any female embryo conceived in deep space.

They also concluded that male fertility was likely to be negatively affected, with the particles damaging the sperm count.

Given that travel to distant planets is likely to take decades, centuries or longer, this could make any mission to colonise other environments a non-starter.

The scientists noted that space shield technology is currently not sufficiently advanced to offer enough protection from this type of radiation."