Well, to that end, Radiation Shield Technologies has developed a full line of radiation-defeating garments (the thyroid collar being our favorite).

ENGADGET: Demron garments resist radiation without overlooking style

"One of the ways these discs could be reused is as a radiation shield because there's a lot of plastic packaging in the trash, " Mary Hummerick, a Qinetiq North America microbiologist at Kennedy Space Center in Florida working on the project, said in a statement.

MSN: NASA hopes astronaut trash can be used as radiation shield

Robots are much easier to feed, experience little trouble when subject to prolonged weightlessness, and are much easier to shield from radiation.

CNN: Mars can wait. Oceans can't

Nonetheless, a cottage industry has sprung up to sell gadgets that supposedly shield callers from cellular radiation.

FORBES: Shield sham

While an apron covers one-third of the body, the Cellular-guard shield blocks but a fraction of radiation hitting the brain.

FORBES: Shield Sham

The Sun's magnetic field and solar wind - mainly in the form of electrons and protons coming out of the Sun - protects the entire Solar System by acting as a sort of shield from cosmic rays (very energetic particles and radiation from outer space).

BBC: Viewpoint: The Sun and climate change

The shield building is intended to protect the reactor from damage and provide a radiation barrier, in the event of an accident.

WSJ: NRC Approves Toshiba Reactor Design