How a trip to Mars could change your body's bugs : Year-long NASA twin study finds Scott Kelly's gut bacteria changed dramatically
- Scott Kelly was on the ISS for 340 days while identical twin brother was on Earth
- Early results show changes in gene expression and other biological markers
- Scientists are working to determine which are directly tied to time in orbit
Long periods in space can change the bacterial makeup of the human gut, researchers have found.
The find, made as part of NASA's twin study of Scott and Mark Kelly, could have major implications for prolonged trips - to the red planet, for instance.
Northwestern researchers are comparing the effect of living at zero gravity for a year on a human's gut microbiota - the 'bugs' found naturally in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) to aid digestion.
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While astronaut Scott Kelly (right) lived aboard the International Space Station for 340 days, his identical twin brother Mark (left) remained on Earth – and researchers have now found a number of differences between the two
The Northwestern team is one of 10 NASA-funded research groups studying the Kelly twins to learn how living in space for a long period of time - such as a mission to Mars - affects the human body.
While Scott spent nearly a year in space, his brother, Mark, remained on Earth, as a ground-based control.
'We are seeing changes associated with spaceflight, and they go away upon return to Earth,' said Fred W. Turek, the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Biology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. He is a co-leader of the study.
'It's early in our analysis, so we don't know yet what these changes mean,' said Martha H. Vitaterna, study co-leader and research associate professor of neurobiology at Northwestern.
'We don't know what it is about spaceflight that is driving the changes in gut microbes.'
The research team includes collaborators from Rush University Medical School and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
'We will be working closely with the other Twins Study teams to piece together a more complete picture of the effects of long space missions,' Turek said.
'What we learn will help us safeguard the health of astronauts, and it will also help us improve human health on Earth.'
Turek reported his team's preliminary research results at NASA's Human Research Program's annual Investigators' Workshop, held last week in Galveston, Texas.
This was the first meeting where the researchers with the 10 Twins Study teams, which are looking at different aspects of the twins' physiology, could share their data with each other.
'We were very excited to learn what the other teams have discovered and to start thinking about how it fits with our findings,' Vitaterna said.
'This is a big milestone - we now know things we didn't know before.'
The researchers cautioned that the findings are preliminary and that they have not had a chance to dig deeply to figure out what the data mean.
'This will happen in the coming months when we look at our findings in the context of what the other teams are finding,' Vitaterna said.
'Right now, we do not see anything alarming or scary - the Kelly twins seem to have healthy gut microbiomes.'
Scientists reported their preliminary results at a meeting for NASA's Human Research Program on January 26. The Kelly brothers have nearly identical genomes and similar life experiences, allowing for an unprecedented look at the physical effects of long-term spaceflight
Other teams in the project found astronauts suffer mysterious mutations in their DNA after spending just a year in space.
This is according to the first results of NASAs ground-breaking 'Twins Study' which looked at difference between astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly.
While Scott Kelly lived aboard the International Space Station for 340 days, his identical twin, Mark, remained on Earth.
Nasa has released its first set of data which suggests Kelly's genes changed during the 340 days on the International Space Station - but it isn't exactly sure why.
Geneticists are working to determine which changes are the result of Scott Kelly's time in orbit.
Scientists reported their preliminary results at a meeting for NASA's Human Research Program on January 26, according to Nature.
The Kelly brothers have nearly identical genomes and similar life experiences, allowing for an unprecedented look at the physical effects of long-term spaceflight.
Blood and other biological samples were collected from the pair before, during, and after Scott Kelly's mission.
'Almost everyone is reporting that we see differences,' geneticist Christopher Mason, of Weill Cornell Medicine, told Nature.
'The data are so fresh that some of them are still coming off the sequencing machines.'
To their surprise, the researchers found that Scott Kelly's telomeres – the caps on the ends of chromosomes – grew to be longer than Mark's.
According to Susan Bailey, a radiation biologist at Colorado State University, 'that is exactly the opposite of what we thought.'
But, the findings have since been confirmed by a second lab.
Scott's telomeres soon returned to their normal, pre-flight lengths after he returned to the ground, and the team is working to determine what this means.
The study is so far one of the most detailed molecular profiles ever conducted, and could help pave the way for personalized medicines in future spaceflight. Scott Kelly can be seen floating during a spacewalk in December 2015
They also noted changes in DNA methylation – the reversible addition of a chemical marker to DNA that can affect gene expression, according to Nature.
While DNA methylation decreased in Scott while he was in orbit, it simultaneously increased in Mark.
And, the levels returned close to normal for both men soon after Scott returned.
The meaning of this, too, still remains unclear, the scientists say.
In addition, the researchers also found differences in gene-expression signatures.
While these changes are common on Earth, they appeared to be much larger than normal in Scott Kelly.
This could be the result of the different stresses of space-life, from eating freeze-dried food to attempting to sleep in microgravity, Nature reports.
The study is so far one of the most detailed molecular profiles ever conducted, and could help pave the way for personalized medicines in future spaceflight.
But, with just two subjects, the results may not be generalizable.
The Kelly twins are both astronauts with spaceflight under their belts; Scott holds a lifetime total of 520 days, while Mark has flown for a total of 54.
When Scott Kelly first arrived back in Houston last March, he appeared to be slightly taller than his twin brother.
The height difference was caused by the ISS' microgravity conditions which elongate the spine – but the effect was only temporary.
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