Space weather phenomena on heart rate: a study in the Greek region.

Many scientific investigations have focused on how space weather phenomena, taking place in the vicinity of the Earth, may influence different aspects of life on Earth and presumably human health itself. From 2005, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has established an important position in the field of these investigations by collaborating with various scientists and Institutes, both international and domestic, in different heliobiological projects. In this work, the Cosmic Ray Group of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has co-operated with the medical staff from different hospitals and clinics around the country so as to develop large records of medical data (heart rate) which covers a long time period.

ASSESSING RADIATION EXPOSURE INSIDE THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

The study of the particle showers created inside the Earth's atmosphere due to interactions of cosmic rays of solar and galactic origin is of great importance for the determination of the radiation impact on technological and biological systems. DYASTIMA is a Geant4-based software application that simulates the evolution of secondary particle cascades inside the atmosphere of Earth. DYASTIMA-R is a new feature especially created for assessing the exposure of flight-personnel and frequent flyers to cosmic radiation by performing calculations of radiobiological quantities, such as dose and equivalent dose rates for several air-flight scenarios.