Results show the human body changes, but not dramatically.
Twin studies are the closest scientists can get to putting a person in two places at once. But they are also hard to come by: Identical twins are relatively rare . Even rarer are identical twin pairs that are astronauts. In fact, right now, just one set exists: Scott and Mark Kelly.NASA Twin Study: A first-of-its kind longitudinal study in which one brother spent a year onboard the International Space Station and the other spent those same 12 months on Earth.
So what does a year in space actually do to the body? Overall, the results of the twin study suggest that for a year’s time, “human health can be mostly sustained over this duration of spaceflight.” Many changes were temporary and slowly stalled upon Kelly’s return to Earth, while others have stuck around. Understanding all of these changes will take time, but here’s what we know for now.Telomeres are molecules that sit at the end of DNA segments and protect them from damage and degradation.
While scientists don’t know for sure, they surmise that this shift in activity is at least partially related to the amount of radiation exposure Scott Kelly received compared to his brother. An increase in radiation exposure may cause cells to attempt to repair themselves, thereby increasing certain gene activity.
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