Originally Posted by jowey

I will give you that, if the cells were exposed. The cells on the outside of the bioship could exude a barrier shell that would be radiation resistant. The bioship could also be designed to collect ices (from low gravity sources) around it for both propellant and additional radiation protection. It could also burrow into the center of a rock.

Think it was Arthur C. Clarke that proposed building a shell by finding an asteroid, inserting an explosive/gas in the center, spinning it and heating it till it melted, from the sun for example. Once liquid the explosive could inflate it to some sort of container. Purity of the rock might be an issue but it might apply to the ices, gently heated till liquid..... be interesting to see if it would evaporate in the vacuum or one could create a bubble of liquid in space.

Getting in and out of a larger gravity well would mean shedding its outer shells.....

.....hey it was only a story line