<h2>Self-Guiding</h2>
In a world first, surgeons just used a self-navigating surgery robot in an experimental surgery — training a robotic catheter to find its way to a leaky valve in a pig&#8217;s heart.
The new robot, <a href="https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/29/eaaw1977">described in research</a> published in the journal Science Robotics on Wednesday, marks the beginning of the transition from <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-surgeons-sense-touch">robotic surgical tools</a> to true robot-assisted surgeries, where autonomous devices can actually take the load off of overburdened human doctors.
<h2>Hug The Walls</h2>
The catheter found its way to the leaky valve by hugging the walls of the heart as it navigated, using artificial intelligence and a camera to suss out its location.
&#8220;The algorithms help the catheter figure out what type of tissue it&#8217;s touching, where it is in the heart, and how it should choose its next motion to get where we want it to go,&#8221; Pierre DuPont, chief of Pediatric Cardiac Bioengineering at Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital, said in a <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424153600.htm">press release</a>.
<h2>First Steps</h2>
The robot took longer to reach the leaky valve than a physician guiding a standard catheter, but the surgeons behind the project see their accomplishment as the beginning of automated surgeries where robots handle the mundane tasks.
&#8220;The right way to think about this is through the analogy of a fighter pilot and a fighter plane,&#8221; said DuPont. &#8220;The fighter plane takes on the routine tasks like flying the plane, so the pilot can focus on the higher-level tasks of the mission.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424153600.htm">A first in medical robotics: Autonomous navigation inside the body</a> [Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital via ScienceDaily]
More on robotic surgery: <a href="https://futurism.com/vaccines-stem-cells-robots-surgery">Experts: Stem Cells and Robots Will Replace Many Invasive Surgeries</a>

"The right way to think about this is through the analogy of a fighter pilot and a fighter plane. The fighter plane takes on the routine tasks like flying the plane, so the pilot can focus on the higher-level tasks of the mission."

Surgeons just sent a tiny, autonomous bot into a heart valve

Robot Doctor

Surgeons just used the first autonomous surgery robot, a self-guiding catheter that could navigate its way through a pig's heart.

Surgeons Just Sent a Tiny, Autonomous Bot Into a Heart Valve

Surgeons just used the first-ever autonomous surgery robot in an experimental operation on a pig.

<h2>Brain-To-Speech</h2>
A new brain-computer interface device decodes brain activity to figure out what someone is trying to say, and uses that data to synthesize full, audible sentences.
The device is far from perfect and the research is still in its early stages, but the device is the first to recreate a full sentence in a way that was understandable to someone else, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-take-a-step-toward-decoding-thoughts/">according to Scientific American</a> — a ray of hope for people who who&#8217;ve lost their ability to communicate from strokes or other conditions.
<h2>No Mindreading</h2>
The University of California, San Francisco researchers behind the device found that trying to directly translate the brain&#8217;s behavior into audible speech was too complex, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1119-1">according to research</a> published in the journal Nature on Thursday.
Instead, they used artificial intelligence to correlate signals that the brain sent to participants&#8217; vocal tracts that corresponded with specific vocabulary, ultimately simulating the vocal tract&#8217;s behavior to generate realistic-sounding words. In a test run, the device was able to synthesize speech while people were silently mouthing words.
<h2>Still Buggy</h2>
People who listened to and tried to transcribe the machine-generated sentences misunderstood at least one word more than half the time, but the fact that they ever got it right represents <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/brain-implant-read-paralyzed-minds-speak-bci">progress over existing systems</a>.
&#8220;For someone who’s locked in and can’t communicate at all, a few minor errors would be acceptable,&#8221; Northwestern University neuroengineer Marc Slutzky, who has pursued similar projects, told SciAm. &#8220;Obviously you’d want to [be able to] say any word you’d want to, but it would still be a lot better than having to type out words one letter at a time, which is the [current] state of the art.”
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-take-a-step-toward-decoding-thoughts/">Scientists Take a Step Toward Decoding Thoughts</a> [Scientific American]
More on brain-computer interfaces: <a href="https://futurism.com/noninvasive-neural-implant-clinical-trials">This Neural Implant Accesses Your Brain Through the Jugular Vein</a>

It's the first brain-computer interface to synthesize an entire sentence.

Amazing device turns thoughts into audible sentences

Decoder Ring

A new brain-computer interface device can translate the neural signals controlling someone's vocal tract into full sentences of audible speech.

Amazing Device Turns Thoughts Into Audible Sentences

It's far from perfect, but it's an important step.

<h2>Speed It Up</h2>
A typical drug is unlikely to reach pharmacy shelves <a href="http://phrma-docs.phrma.org/sites/default/files/pdf/rd_brochure_022307.pdf">for a decade</a> after scientists first develop it, and getting it through all of the regulatory hurdles can cost billions of dollars. That&#8217;s a serious challenge for smaller pharmaceutical companies.
Moleculin Biotech, a clinical research firm testing cancer treatments, says it found a shortcut by conducting clinical trials in Poland, where it&#8217;s been able to move much faster than its ongoing American experiments.
&#8220;Like any small biotech company, we have to make the most of limited resources,&#8221; said CEO Walter Klemp, who insisted to Futurism that the Poland trials were just as rigorous as those that happen on U.S. soil. &#8220;The big challenge there ultimately comes to time and money, and of course those two are inextricably related. The more time you spend, the more money you&#8217;re burning; we look for every opportunity to shorten the pathway.&#8221;
<h2>Treatment-Naïve</h2>
Right now, Moleculin is running two separate experiments — <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03388749?term=annamycin&amp;rank=1">one in Warsaw</a> and another at <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03315039?term=annamycin&amp;rank=2">several U.S. hospitals</a> — to determine the toxicity of Annamycin, an experimental drug that shows promise as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. In each trial, a cohort of three participants gets a particular dosage of the drug, which is increased for each following group as the researchers aim to figure out the dosage at which it becomes toxic.
In the U.S., there are so many clinical trials happening that treatment-naïve participants — meaning those who haven&#8217;t tried or developed a resistance to other treatments — become a hot commodity. Not so, Klemp says, in Poland.
&#8220;It took us nearly a year in the US to fill the first patient cohort,&#8221; Klemp said. &#8220;We filled the first patient cohort in Poland in the first month and a half.&#8221;
Coincidentally, Poland has fewer oncology centers than the U.S. While that means people need to travel farther to get quality care, it ends up working out for Biomoleculin, which can save money by training fewer research teams and supplying fewer clinics while conducting its trial.
<h2>Universal Standards</h2>
But as far as safety standards and rigor go, the trials are the same, Klemp told Futurism. He cited the <a href="http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/Activities/Research/DrugForum/Clinical-Trials-Site-Standards-Harmonization.aspx">Clinical Trial Site Standards Harmonization Action Collaborative</a>, an international agreement that set universal safety standards for clinical research no matter where it occurs.
While the safety standards are all comparable, each organization, be it America&#8217;s FDA, the European Union&#8217;s ESA, or a European member state&#8217;s regulatory body, asks for slightly different information before it will give a clinical trial the go-ahead. And when the trials are complete, each organization has a different process for weighing whether or not the drug should be approved for use.
And while Moleculin didn&#8217;t explicitly contact the FDA before beginning a Polish trial — and the FDA didn&#8217;t respond to Futurism&#8217;s requests for comment — Klemp said it&#8217;s established precedent that the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/downloads/regulatoryinformation/guidances/ucm294729.pdf">FDA will accept data</a> from overseas when considering a drug for approval, just as long as enough of the research also happened in the U.S.
&#8220;It’s not uncommon to have trial data from other countries, esp. Europe, but it’s a little odd if they do that to the exclusion of any US data,&#8221; Erick Turner, an Oregon Health &amp; Science University psychiatrist and former FDA reviewer told Futurism over email.
<h2>Accelerated Care</h2>
Turner explained that during his FDA reviewer days, he saw data come in from other countries that he felt was too good to be true, but also experienced the opposite side of things where he was setting up a trial in the U.S. and his part of the experiment was cancelled because a site in Eastern Europe recruited participants much faster.
&#8220;It&#8217;s fairly common for small biotechs to look for opportunities outside the U.S. that may help accelerate the process,&#8221; Klemp said.
This doesn’t mean that the FDA is needlessly burdensome, nor that <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/cancer-detecting-breathalyzer-clinical-trials">taking trials elsewhere</a> lets drug companies play fast and loose with their data — for the drug to ever hit shelves in the U.S., it still needs to pass a team of FDA reviewers.
But finding ways to speed up the process of testing drugs means that should they eventually get approved, the people who they would help get treated sooner.
&#8220;We&#8217;re pushing all the buttons that we can to shorten time, to reduce cost, to get to an answer,&#8221; Klemp said.
More on clinical research: <a href="https://futurism.com/noninvasive-neural-implant-clinical-trials">This Neural Implant Accesses Your Brain Through the Jugular Vein</a>

"The more time you spend, the more money you're burning; we look for every opportunity to shorten the pathway."

Expensive US drug trials are pushing pharma research overseas

Outsourced Research

Moleculin Biotech, a company that conducts clinical research for cancer treatments, found a way to speed up the process by moving its research to Poland.

Expensive US Drug Trials Are Pushing Pharma Research Overseas

Poland offers a low-cost alternative to American trials, where participants are in high demand.

<h2>Close-Up</h2>
Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory say they built a simulation that models the behavior of every single atom in a single human gene. That means a billion moving parts all at once — a feat so complex that the scientists say they need to wait for a <a href="https://futurism.com/america-fastest-supercomputer-summit">new generation of supercomputers</a> if they want to model an entire chromosome or, better yet, the human genome.
All the same, the model could give scientists new insights into how DNA molecules behave on a regular basis, according to their research, published last week in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcc.25840">Journal of Computational Chemistry</a> — the simulation isn&#8217;t just for computational bragging rights, but is also a tool that could lead to new medicine.
<h2>Atomic Medicine</h2>
By understanding the behavior of every single atom of DNA, the scientists could unravel new medical discoveries.
&#8220;It is important to understand DNA at this level of detail because we want to understand precisely how genes turn on and off,&#8221; Los Alamos biologist Karissa Sanbonmatsu said in a <a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-04-scientists-billion-atom-biomolecular-simulation.html">press release</a>. &#8220;Knowing how this happens could unlock the secrets to how many diseases occur.&#8221;
<h2>First Steps</h2>
For now, the simulation is incredibly slow. It can model just one nanosecond of molecular activity per day, according to the paper.
That&#8217;s far below the speed of biomedical simulations designed with practicality in mind, which suggests that the scientists stretched their computational power to the absolute limit in order to model all billion atoms at once.
&#8220;Right now, we were able to model an entire gene with the help of the Trinity supercomputer at Los Alamos,&#8221; Los Alamos physicist Anna Lappala said in the press release. &#8220;In the future, we&#8217;ll be able to make use of exascale supercomputers, which will give us a chance to model the full genome.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-04-scientists-billion-atom-biomolecular-simulation.html">Scientists create first billion-atom biomolecular simulation</a> [Los Alamos Newsroom via Phys.org]
More on supercomputers: <a href="https://futurism.com/america-fastest-supercomputer-summit">America Now Has The Fastest Supercomputer In The World. Here’s Why That Actually Matters</a>

"In the future, we'll be able to make use of exascale supercomputers, which will give us a chance to model the full genome."

Scientists simulated every single atom of a single gene

Extreme Close-Up

Using a powerful supercomputer, scientists simulated every single one of the billion atoms found in a human gene. It may help them crack genetic disease.

Scientists Simulated Every Single Atom of a Single Gene

It models a billion moving parts at once.

<h2>Splinter Cell</h2>
Scientists say they&#8217;ve gene-hacked a human cell, using CRISPR tech to turn it into a tiny biological computer complete with the cellular analog of dual core processors.
The squishy little CPUs could eventually lead to powerful computers housed entirely within a cell, <a href="https://newatlas.com/crispr-cell-computer/59336/">according to New Atlas</a>, that would detect and treat diseases.
<h2>Logic Gates</h2>
The cellular computers, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/15/7214#abstract-2">described in research</a> published in the journal PNAS this month, mimic the normal process by which organisms turn genetic information into the proteins that carry out specific tasks within a cell.
The computer is programmed to take in specific genetic codes and perform computations that result in the production of a particular protein. Except instead of simply following the DNA&#8217;s genetic code as a cell does, the computer receives two inputs and combines them, calculating the correct protein to churn out.
<h2>Targeted Medicine</h2>
The researchers behind the cellular computers say that they could be programmed to scan for certain biomarkers signifying the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-crispr-tech-cure-herpes">presence of a disease</a> and, if all the right conditions are met, mass produce molecules or proteins that could help treat it, according to New Atlas.
&#8220;Imagine a microtissue with billions of cells, each equipped with its own dual-core processor,&#8221; MIT researcher Martin Fussenegger told New Atlas. &#8220;Such &#8216;computational organs&#8217; could theoretically attain computing power that far outstrips that of a digital supercomputer — and using just a fraction of the energy.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://newatlas.com/crispr-cell-computer/59336/">CRISPR used to build dual-core computers inside human cells</a> [New Atlas]
More on CRISPR: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-crispr-tech-cure-herpes">New CRISPR Tech Could Cure Herpes</a>

Welcome to the world of 'computational organs.'

Scientists used CRISPR to turn a cell into a biological computer

Cell Out

Using CRISPR gene editing tools, MIT scientists turned a human cell into a tiny computer that could be used to detect diseases and churn out treatments.

Scientists Used CRISPR to Turn a Cell Into a Biological Computer

"Imagine a microtissue with billions of cells, each equipped with its own dual-core processor."

<h2>Internal Review</h2>
After media revealed that Chinese scientist He Jiankui had conducted research that led to the birth of gene-hacked babies, it soon emerged that he had corresponded about the controversial work with American scientists.
Three of those scientists are from Stanford University, but an internal investigation conducted by the university just cleared all three of wrongdoing, <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/613323/stanford-has-cleared-its-professors-over-the-crispr-baby-scandal/">according to the MIT Technology Review</a>. While the school&#8217;s faculty knew about the controversial and illegal research, the university maintains that they didn&#8217;t contribute to it.
<h2>Insider Knowledge</h2>
The three Stanford professors <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/stanford-probes-faculty-gene-hacked">named in the investigation</a> are Stephen Quake, He&#8217;s former employer, William Hurlbut, who <a href="https://futurism.com/gene-edited-baby-due">dropped the news</a> that a second gene-edited baby was on the way, and geneticist Matthew Porteus.
The three scientists all allegedly knew about He&#8217;s research but didn&#8217;t directly participate, <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2019/04/16/stanford-statement-fact-finding-review-related-dr-jiankui/">according to a statement</a> released by Stanford on Tuesday. The statement goes even further, stating that the American researchers shared their concerns with He and that they were misled to believe that He had been granted institutional approval before beginning his experiments.
Missing from the statement, however, is any recommendation on what scientists ought to do when faced with research like He&#8217;s — though the bar seems to be set, implicitly, at not actively taking part.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/613323/stanford-has-cleared-its-professors-over-the-crispr-baby-scandal/">Stanford has cleared its professors over the CRISPR baby scandal</a> [MIT Technology Review]
More on CRISPR babies: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/stanford-probes-faculty-gene-hacked">Stanford Probes Faculty Who Knew About Gene-Hacked Chinese Babies</a>

The scientists knew about the research but didn't directly participate, which is apparently good enough.

Stanford declines to punish faculty for CRISPR babies

Stanford Says Stanford Is Good

After conducting an internal investigation into three professors who knew about He Jiankui's CRISPR baby research, Stanford let its faculty off the hook.

Stanford Declines to Punish Faculty For CRISPR Babies

They knew about it beforehand, but did nothing to stop it.

<h2>Hunter-Seeker</h2>
Gene hacking techniques that were recently used in human cells for the first time could someday let doctors shred up and destroy viruses like herpes or hepatitis B inside human cells, scientists say.
The new technique is called CRISPR-Cas3 — usually, when you hear about CRISPR tech, it&#8217;s the Cas9 variety — and Cornell researchers believe it could be used to cure viral diseases, according to a <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/04/crispr-cas3-innovation-holds-promise-disease-cures-advancing-science">university-published press release</a>.
<h2>DNA Shredder</h2>
The scientists used Cas3 to <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/crispr-cas3-shredder-human-cells">identify and shred</a> long stretches of human DNA, <a href="https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(19)30217-5#%20">according to research</a> published in the journal Molecular Cell last week. The new gene-hacking tool makes more and broader cuts in genetic material than CRISPR-Cas9, meaning it could let scientists quickly learn what specific, long stretches of genetic information do and how they interact with certain diseases.
It also means that the gene-hacking tool could attack and shred viral DNA.
&#8220;My lab spent the past ten years figuring out how CRISPR-Cas3 works. I am thrilled that my colleagues and I finally demonstrated its genome editing activity in human cells,&#8221; said Cornell molecular biologist Ailong Ke. &#8220;Our tools can be made to target these viruses very specifically and then erase them very efficiently. In theory, it could provide a cure for these viral diseases.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/04/crispr-cas3-innovation-holds-promise-disease-cures-advancing-science">CRISPR-Cas3 innovation holds promise for disease cures, advancing science</a> [Cornell Chronicle]
More on CRISPR-Cas3: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/crispr-cas3-shredder-human-cells">Researchers use CRISPR &#8220;Shredder&#8221; on Human DNA for First Time</a>

"My lab spent the past ten years figuring out how CRISPR-Cas3 works. I am thrilled that my colleagues and I finally demonstrated its genome editing activity in human cells."

New CRISPR tech could cure herpes

Gene Hacking

Cornell scientists developed a new type of gene-hacking technology that acts like a DNA "shredder." It could be used to cure diseases like herpes.

New CRISPR Tech Could Cure Herpes

CRISPR-Cas3 can target and erase viruses in human cells — including, potentially, herpes.

<h2>Follow-Up</h2>
New research suggests that fecal transplants can reduce the severity of conditions associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) — and that the changes last several years after the transplants.
Back in 2017, Arizona State University conducted a study on children with ASD of varying severity. Now, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42183-0">research published Tuesday</a> in the journal Scientific Reports shows that the reduction in ASD symptoms persisted for two years after the fact, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/health/microbiome-brain-behavior-dementia.html">further demonstrating the link</a> between the gut microbiome and the brain.
<h2>Drastic Change</h2>
In <a href="https://futurism.com/new-study-supports-the-link-between-autism-and-gut-microbes">the original study</a>, 15 of the 18 children had what was considered severe autism, with difficulty communicating and handling social interactions. Two years after the study, which involved eight weeks of fecal transplants that reintroduced a greater variety of healthy microbial flora into the participants&#8217; gastrointestinal tracts, only three participants still fall within the &#8220;severe&#8221; classification, according to the research.
&#8220;We are finding a very strong connection between the microbes that live in our intestines and signals that travel to the brain,&#8221; Arizona scientist Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown <a href="https://newatlas.com/fecal-transplants-autism-symptoms-reduction/59278/">told New Atlas</a>. &#8220;Two years later, the children are doing even better, which is amazing.&#8221;
<h2>Early Days</h2>
The scientists are now working to design a larger and more thorough clinical trial in hopes of getting their treatment approved for use by the FDA, according to New Atlas.
And while the goal isn&#8217;t to &#8220;cure&#8221; a condition that <a href="https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/should-autism-be-cured-or-is-curing-offfensive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some argue</a> doesn&#8217;t need curing, this study suggests that fecal transplants could someday provide people with a way to help children with specific communicative or social difficulties.
READ MORE: <a href="https://newatlas.com/fecal-transplants-autism-symptoms-reduction/59278/">Fecal transplants result in massive long-term reduction in autism symptoms</a> [New Atlas]
More on fecal transplants: <a href="https://futurism.com/new-study-supports-the-link-between-autism-and-gut-microbes">New Study Supports the Link Between Autism and Gut Microbes</a>

"We are finding a very strong connection between the microbes that live in our intestines and signals that travel to the brain. Two years later, the children are doing even better, which is amazing."

Fecal transplants reduce symptoms of Autism long term

Poop Pill

A new study shows that fecal transplants of healthy gut flora can help reduce the more severe symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Fecal Transplants Reduce Symptoms of Autism Long Term

New research cements the link between the gut and the brain.

<h2>Side Hustle</h2>
A father and son team from Michigan were just charged for illegally selling human body parts — and failing to disclose that the corpses carried infectious diseases.
The duo, both named Donald Greene, sold bodies that <a href="https://futurism.com/refurbished-organs-save-millions/">people donated</a> to the Biological Resource Center of Illinois for the purpose of furthering scientific research, <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/04/09/arthur-rathburn-donald-greene-jr-sr-body-part-brokering/">according to CBS Chicago</a>.
<h2>No Returns</h2>
The family sold body parts to medical clinics such as the Detroit Medical Center&#8217;s sports medicine department between 2008 and 2014, according to the station, sometimes for up to $100,000 per CBS.
But they also failed to disclose that they were selling body parts that had tested positive for diseases including HIV, hepatitis, and sepsis, CBS reports.
<h2>Technicality</h2>
Strangely enough, selling body parts isn&#8217;t strictly illegal.
But selling bodies that had been donated for medical research constitutes fraud, according to the federal prosecutors who charged the Greenes, and failing to disclose the infections was against the law. Greene Sr. has been charged with wire fraud, and Jr. with concealing a crime.
READ MORE: <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/04/09/arthur-rathburn-donald-greene-jr-sr-body-part-brokering/">Father And Son Charged With Selling Diseased Body Parts In Alleged Brokering Scheme</a> [CBS Chicago]
More on body parts: <a href="https://futurism.com/freezing-donated-organs-arigos">Freezing And Storing Donated Organs Could Eliminate Some Transplant Waitlists</a>

Selling bodies on its own wasn't illegal.

Family caught selling diseased body parts to medical centers

Rise And Grind

A father and son team was just charged with fraud and concealing a crime for their six-year black market operation where they sold human body parts.

Family Caught Selling Diseased Body Parts to Medical Centers

People thought they were donating their bodies to science.

<h2>Twin Study</h2>
For years, NASA has been analyzing the health effects of space travel by comparing astronaut twins Mark and Scott Kelly. In 2015 into 2016, Scott spent 340 days in orbit while Mark stayed on Earth, giving scientists rare data about how leaving the planet affects the human body.
The study, finally <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6436/eaau8650">published Thursday</a> in the journal Science, reveals that Scott experienced a number of genetic changes while he was in space. Surprisingly, most of them reversed once he landed back on Earth, the MIT Technology Review <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613291/the-first-study-of-a-twin-in-space-looks-like-good-news-for-a-trip-to-mars/">reports</a>, giving researchers valuable insight as space agencies prepare for longer and deeper missions into space.
<h2>Back And Forth</h2>
Over the past few years, NASA scientists have gradually released some info about the twin study&#8217;s findings. Most surprising was how Scott&#8217;s time in space <a href="https://futurism.com/living-in-space-proven-to-transform-humans-on-a-genetic-level">extended his telomeres</a>, the protective caps that protect chromosome and — at least on Earth — slowly degrade over time.
While this finding will likely lead to speculation — and future research — into how spaceflight could affect human longevity, the changes were shortlived. Within half a year of his return to Earth, Scott&#8217;s lengthened telomeres returned to normal, while some new, shorter-than-usual telomeres that formed upon his return persisted.
<h2>Ready To Launch</h2>
Past research on astronauts suggested that extended space travel could <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/international-space-station-germs">compromise their immune systems</a>. The new findings reveal that these changes are largely temporary and that astronauts quickly recover, which is a promising development for the prospect of sending people out to Mars and maybe even farther.
But because the twin study only involved one person in space, it&#8217;s hard to tell just how much each data point matters because the context is missing.
&#8220;It’s analogous to the very first time that we measured someone&#8217;s blood pressure,&#8221; lead researcher Chris Mason told MIT Tech. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t know what the actual reference numbers were until we started to measure more people.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613291/the-first-study-of-a-twin-in-space-looks-like-good-news-for-a-trip-to-mars/">The first study of a twin in space looks like good news for a trip to Mars</a> [MIT Technology Review]
More on the twin study: <a href="https://futurism.com/nasa-twin-study-kelly-preliminary">After a Year Away from Earth, Scott Kelly’s “Space Genes” Set Him Apart From His Twin</a>

"We didn't know what the actual reference numbers were until we started to measure more people."

NASA: genetic changes caused by space travel are temporary

Previously Identical

NASA just published the full results of its extensive study into how space travel altered astronaut Scott Kelly's health and gene expression.

/Medicine