Scott Kelly has spent a year in space. Meanwhile, his brother Mark did the same on Earth. NASA had an extraordinary opportunity to check on the body of astronaut twins what is the effect on the body of spending a year in space , comparing it with its twin on Earth.
DNA analysis of the twin astronauts has revealed some very striking data ; Among other things, Scott Kelly was 5 centimeters taller than his twin brother due to the lack of gravity that caused the discs of the astronaut’s spine to expand.
But the most surprising discovery has to do with longevity. Scott’s telomeres – the ends of chromosomes whose length is related to longevity – underwent variations. Specifically, these stretches of DNA were longer than those of its twin brother, showing that long-term space travel does not negatively affect telomeres, but quite the opposite.
“ That’s the exact opposite of what we thought, ” explained Susan Bailey, a radiation biologist at Colorado State University who works with NASA.
According to NASA, the lengthening of Scott Kelly’s telomeres could be related to increased exercise and diet aboard the Space Station. However, upon returning to Earth, his telomeres began to shorten again.
Does this mean that living in space could be the key to living longer? Although this idea may seem stressful and strange to us, the truth is that the tests determine that the stress of living with gravity behind us takes its toll.
The conclusions of the study have been published in the journal Nature.
