They probably threw rings. At least the engineers did…
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when it comes to circles it’s tau, not pi.
this is interesting
Spending a year in space not only changes your outlook, it transforms your genes.
Preliminary results from NASA’s Twins Study reveal that 7% of astronaut Scott Kelly’s genes did not return to normal after his return to Earth two years ago.
The study looks at what happened to Kelly before, during and after he spent one year aboard the International Space Station through an extensive comparison with his identical twin, Mark, who remained on Earth.
Twins study: How one-year mission affected astronaut's health
NASA has learned that the formerly identical twins are no longer genetically the same.
’Space genes’
The transformation of 7% of Scott’s DNA suggests longer-term changes in genes related to at least five biological pathways and functions.
The newest preliminary results from this unique study of Scott, now retired from NASA, were released at the 2018 Investigator’s Workshop for NASA’s Human Research Program in January. Last year, NASA published its first round of preliminary results at the 2017 Investigator’s Workshop. Overall, the 2018 findings corroborated those from 2017, with some additions.
International Space Station Fast Facts
To track physical changes caused by time in space, scientists measured Scott’s metabolites (necessary for maintaining life), cytokines (secreted by immune system cells) and proteins (workhorses within each cell) before, during and after his mission. The researchers learned that spaceflight is associated with oxygen-deprivation stress, increased inflammation and dramatic nutrient shifts that affect gene expression.
In particular, Chris Mason of Weill Cornell Medicine reported on the activation of Scott’s “space genes” while confirming the results of his separate NASA study, published last year.
To better understand the genetic dynamics of each twin, Mason and his team focused on chemical changes in RNA and DNA. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that each twin has more than expected unique mutations in his genome – in fact, hundreds.
Although 93% of Scott’s genetic expression returned to normal once he returned to Earth, a subset of several hundred “space genes” remained disrupted. Some of these mutations, found only after spaceflight, are thought to be caused by the stresses of space travel.
As genes turn on and off, change in the function of cells may occur.
Looking to Mars
Mason’s work shows that one of the most important changes to Scott’s cells was hypoxia, or a deficient amount of tissue oxygenation, probably due to a lack of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide. Possible damage to mitochondria, the “power plants of cells,” also occurred in Scott’s cells, as indicated by mitochondrial stress and increased levels of mitochondria in the blood.
Our bodies in space: Zero gravity weighs heavy on your health
Mason’s team also saw changes in the length of Scott’s telomeres, caps at the end of chromosomes that are considered a marker of biological aging. First, there was a significant increase in average length while he was in space, and then there was a decrease in length within about 48 hours of his landing on Earth that stabilized to nearly preflight levels. Scientists believe that these telomere changes, along with the DNA damage and DNA repair measured in Scott’s cells, were caused by both radiation and calorie restrictions.
Additionally, the team found changes in Scott’s collagen, blood clotting and bone formation due, most likely, to fluid shifts and zero gravity. The researchers discovered hyperactive immune activity as well, thought to be the result of his radically different environment: space.
Kelly’s one-year mission is a scientific stepping stone to a planned three-year mission to Mars, NASA said. Research into how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation and the stress of long-duration spaceflight is needed before astronauts are sent on journeys that would triple the time humans have spent in space so far.
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So, he’s a super-powered space-mutant now?
Cool.
we should do a pre-season camp on the space station
The snags wouldn’t stay on the BBQ.
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Surely there’s enough spin at Blitz to keep them centripetally stuck there?
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I’m concerned about the BBlitz panic when the training report says everyone is in moonboots.
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I feel sorry for the poor ■■■■■■ who has to make that coffin.
(Too soon?)
The good news for you is all Cavendish bananas are cloned, not bred. So if a virus or bug affects one of them, every Cavendish banana on the planet (ie 99% of the commercial crop) will be susceptible. So they’ll have to make a new cultivar.
Which is what happened to Gros Michels in the 60s?
One case where lid off really does mean disasterous consequences.
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For those who, fondly, remember the Curiosity Show, they have a YouTube channel of their segments. Good memories.
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I solely blame the cancelation of this show with the nations recent aversion to science
I blame it on the death or deportation of Professor Julius Sumner Miller.
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I don’t think there’s an aversion any more than has been historically. It depends on which field you’re talking about and whether your dad thinks that one is a load of bollocks because it’s really socialists wanting to take your stuff away or Satan trying to trick you into going to hell. The rest of it is ok or at worst a mysterious but necessary dark art.
Why is it so ??
So did CSIRO really coin petrichor?
Could they make a word for before a storm, when the light changes and the colour pops and the air zings?
Because ‘calm before the storm’ is kind of the opposite of what it really is.
Some interesting questions regarding the Skripal nerve agent attack.
Novichok is said to be a fast acting nerve agent.
The greatest concentration of this agent was found at Skripals house.(on the door handle?)
However after leaving the house, they went to a restarant, and other places before finally succumbing on a park bench, where there were also traces of the nerve agent, enough to effect a first responder.
So, either the agent was put on the door handle by the attacker or Skripal himself,when closing the door.
So he had skin contact with it. So why did it take so long to effect him, why was there so much of it at the park bench?
I suspect there is more to this story than has been told.
After all, this is brought to us by the same people who were the main instigators of an illegal war in Iraq that has killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, disrupted countries across the Middle East and Europe, squandered trillions of dollars, heightened terrorism concerns across the world, raised the threat of ISIS/ISIL etc, and all based on obviously fraudulent claims that “Saddam has missiles that can reach the UK within 45 minutes”.
Hmmm…
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There was an interview on BBC radio which mentioned that inhalation of novichok gas is fast, but transcutaneous infusion of the powder form is slower, so residue on his hand might have been on everything he touched between leaving his house and finally going unconcious.
Yes it is fertile ground for speculation and conspiracy theories. For example the killing of a known double agent might be done by the asylum country because he was actually a triple agent.