Health & Fitness

Twins Scott, Mark Kelly Discover Space Really Changes A Person

NASA has been studying the twins to see how space affects a person over time. They discovered that Scott's year in space altered his DNA.

TUSCON, AZ – Space really can change a person, it turns out. Just ask astronaut brothers Mark and Scott Kelly. They used to be identical twins. Turns out that's no longer the case.

NASA has been studying the Kelly brothers as part of preparations for a longer trip to Mars.

While Scott spent 340 days in space, Mark stayed behind, giving NASA a chance to study the effects of time in space down to the DNA.

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And that's where the biggest change took place.

Scott's DNA changed seven percent while he was in space.

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The brothers are taking the news in stride.

"I used to have an identical twin brother," Mark tweeted. "Then this happened."

Scott was a little snarkier.

"What?" he wrote on twitter. "My DNA changed by 7%!. This could be good news!

"I no longer have to call @ShuttleCDRKelly my identical twin brother anymore."

As Patch reported in January, the data from studying the Kelly twins will help NASA plan what it will take to send humans to Mars, a round trip that would take 500 days, and give new insights into how the human body adjusts to isolation, radiation, stress and weightlessness.

Photo courtesy NASA

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