{"id":6087,"date":"2017-02-03T15:54:03","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T15:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailydigest.com\/?p=6087"},"modified":"2017-02-03T15:54:03","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T15:54:03","slug":"nasa-twin-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailydigest.com\/nasa-twin-study\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Sent An Identical Twin Into Space For A Year To Study Its Effects…"},"content":{"rendered":"

What happens to the human body when it’s in space?<\/strong> <\/em>Well, you’d think we’d all know for certain by now, wouldn’t you? What with the amount of astronauts there have been. But while a lot is known, the science on the data isn’t exact. All scientists have been able to do is check what’s happened to someone on their return from space<\/strong><\/em>. But how do they know that change or whatever it is wouldn’t have happened anyway…?<\/p>\n

Say an astronaut walks in space during a year away up there and returns with a stomach ulcer. Did space cause it? The spacecraft? The food<\/a>? Our would he have got it anyway? Say they’re up for five years and come back with grey hair when they left with dark hair. Is this space behind it?<\/p>\n

One way to tell? A twin study. Take two twins. Keep one unlucky one on Earth and send the other up into space. And that’s just what NASA<\/strong> <\/em>did with the Kelly brothers!<\/p>\n

\"NASA<\/p>\n

Scott Kelly<\/strong><\/em> went up and Mark Kelly<\/em><\/strong> stayed. 340 days NASA’s Twin Study<\/strong> <\/em>lasted and the results? Fascinating!<\/p>\n

Scott’s ‘telomeres’ (the caps at the end of his chromosomes) grew longer in space. He also begun to host different gut bacteria. His methylation levels decreased too.<\/p>\n

\"NASA<\/p>\n

The results will really help NASA adapt their space program and make life easier for astronauts in the future. It’s also just great science and a really interesting story.<\/p>\n

Find out more about the incredible, ground-breaking research and also more about the two twin brothers themselves here in this short video about it all…<\/p>\n