[CCS]

First Genetic Results From Scott Kelly's Year In Space Reveal DNA Mysteries

Among other things:

As identical twins, the brothers are genetically very similar. However, researchers found that while he was in orbit, Scott’s telomeres—the caps on the ends of chromosomes—grew longer than his twin brother’s. Though Scott’s telomeres returned to their pre-flight lengths shortly after he returned to Earth, these results were totally unexpected, since telomeres naturally shrink over the course of one’s life, and the stresses of spaceflight are supposed to accelerate this. At least that was the idea.

“That is exactly the opposite of what we thought,” Susan Bailey, a radiation biologist at Colorado State University, told Nature.

John Charles, chief scientist at NASA’s Human Research Program, said scientists are interested in telomer length during space travel because their erosion could cause health defects during long-term missions. It is critical to understand these potential health risks before sending astronauts on long voyages, such as one to Mars.

Even though Scott’s telomeres miraculously lengthened, this is still worth reviewing.

“It’s important to appreciate that telomere lengthening is not always a good thing, as telomere lengthening is also associated with some disease processes and pathologies,” Charles told Gizmodo. “That is not the case in this instance, however.”

Sweet. Time to biff humans on to the face of Mars and watch as they evolve into beings genetically distinct from humans... MARTIANS!