SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

NASA "Twins Study" Shows How Spaceflight Changes Gene Expression [scientificamerican.com]

Space travel strongly affects the way genes are expressed, or turned on and off, preliminary results from NASA's "Twins Study [space.com]" have revealed.

"Some of the most exciting things that we've seen from looking at gene expression in space is that we really see an explosion, like fireworks taking off, as soon as the human body gets into space," Twins Study principal investigator Chris Mason said in a statement.

"With this study, we've seen thousands and thousands of genes change how they are turned on and turned off," added Mason [nasa.gov], who's based at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University's medical school. "This happens as soon as an astronaut gets into space, and some of the activity persists temporarily upon return to Earth." Specifically, Mason and his team found an increase in methylation, which involves slapping methyl groups onto stretches of DNA. This process commonly inhibits activation of the genes involved. (A methyl group consists of a carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms.)

The Twins Study centers on former NASA astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, who are identical twins and therefore share a DNA profile.

Original Submission