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How would you rule out age-related changes since this specific astronaut was in space for a year? DNA is not fixed, they change all the time. It is always bett
by mikhailt 9y ago
How would you rule out age-related changes since this specific astronaut was in space for a year? DNA is not fixed, they change all the time.
It is always better to have more data points to rule out several variables, especially considering that it is rare to have an astronaut with a twin sibling.
- lostlogin 9y agoSo how did it ever match his twin? Not being facetious but echoing the parent comments confusion. Do the age related changes occur the same way in identical twins?
- mikhailt 9y agoThis article may explain better than I can: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/scott-kellys-medical-monitoring-has-spawned-some-horrific-press-coverage/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/scott-kellys-medical... > As a result, the more relevant comparison (and one NASA did) is Scott's DNA before and after his time in space. That can tell us how many changes were picked up while in space. But as noted above, he would have probably picked up some mutations even if he sat here on Earth. And that's where his twin Mark, who did sit here on Earth, comes in. Mark's before and after gives us a sense of the normal background rate of mutation on Earth. Comparing that rate to Scott's tells us the important number: the degree to which this rate is elevated in the environment of low-Earth orbit.
- everly 9y ago"DNA is not fixed, they change all the time." Then why is it significant that time in space changed it?
- tytytytytytytyt 9y agoIt might have changed it more or in different ways.
- mikhailt 9y agoIt’s the rate of change compared to his twin on earth. This ars article explains better: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/scott-kellys-medical-monitoring-has-spawned-some-horrific-press-coverage/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/scott-kellys-medical...