NASA Confirms Space Did Not Change Astronaut's DNA! So What Caused the Confusion?

What happens to your body in space? This question often crops up in your minds even if you are not an astronomy fan. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been wondering about this question for a very long time. To put the query to rest, NASA undertook a Twin Study, in which astronaut Scott Kelly and his identical twin Mark Kelly took part. Identical twins also have identical DNA, which made them to perfect test subjects for the study. The result of one-year mission was said to provide insight on the effects of space travel to the human body. To understand this phenomenon, Scott stayed on the International Space Station from March 2015 to March 2016, while his twin Mark remained on Earth.

And in the last couple of days, the internet was abuzz with news that Scott, , was no longer a genetic match with his identical twin Mark.  Scott underwent an unexpected genetic change, which lead to 7 percent of his DNA differing from his twin Mark. But is that what really happened?  Did space change his entire genetic coding? Not quite.

Scott who was pretty stoked about the results of the Twins Study and took to Twitter expressing his disbelief.

It turns out that the websites going crazy over the DNA story misinterpreted what NASA said in the first place. In their quest for a click-baitey headline, they misread what the study had revealed. NASA has made an official statement about the whole brouhaha saying that there was a gross misunderstanding about the study and websites and media outlets didn't quite catch what the study had revealed. NASA Johnson Space Center News Chief Kelly O. Humphries said in an email to the reporters that Scott's DNA did not change fundamentally. "What researchers observed are changes in gene expression, which is how your body reacts to your environment. This likely is within the range for humans under stress, such as mountain climbing or SCUBA diving." Colorado State University's Susan Bailey, who leads one of the research involving the twins expressed her disdain over the sensationalisation of the study.

So to conclude, the study revealed that there was a change in Scott's gene expression. That's not the same as his DNA undergoing a major change. It only means that now his DNA is behaving differently than his brothers, but it is predominantly the same.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 16, 2018 07:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).