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The Right Stuff with Astronaut Scott Kelly and Dr. Chris Mason

2021-03-26 | 🔗

What does it take to be an astronaut? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O’Reilly, and Chuck Nice break down the physical effects of being in space and the results of the astronaut twins study with guests astronaut Scott Kelly and biophysicist Chris Mason.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://www.startalkradio.net/show/the-right-stuff-with-astronaut-scott-kelly-and-dr-chris-mason/

Thanks to our Patrons Jamie Ferns, evan stegall, Payton Hawk, Farid El Nasire, Steve Lindauer, Austin Lawrence, Cory Farnum, Nathan Mills, Trumpet Wom', and Noah for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: NASA.

This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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from how we motion they. I is used in schools to facial recognition in policing in machines. We trust introduces you to the people, building these applications fighting against them at trying to regulate how it all gets used. This is super super important stuff. That's already a part of everyone's lives: listen and subscribe. Wherever you get your podcast welcome to start off your place in the universe where science and pop culture collide our top begin right now. This is start talks, ports addition, their rights. Does the air said the right step? That's where we're going, sport today and I go with me. Of course, my co host Jackknife Jack any always happen stamp a committee,
and I got very rightly in my spear again. Ok, to tell them in more than one of these episodes that we got a cool which does a wiki page on you have there, then tumble down and when we look good, I just want to say must be breathing in evidence is busy. So today's topic, the right stuff. You generally heard that applied to astronauts and in fact we have a real, live or sent an astronaut on this show because we want to explore what commonalities there might be for training to go into space and how that might impact the future of training for athletics, just basically understanding what the human body is key, and who's that extra, but the one and only Scott care Scottie. Her friends got welcome, welcome to startle
thanks around meal. If you dont know who's got Kelly, is he's one of a twin and one twin went into space this for him and the twins. Here on earth and then the other one went and the other one went to market also known as the EU has set up a very good, very good. Your retired now retired astronaut engineer naval aviator. I got the whole list, beer, you, commanded the International space Station and recorded a full year in space, and that was consecutive right, not just in bits and pieces. and you, you wrote a book a year in space, a lifetime of discovery. That and limit the main Taggart Brothers names Mark Mark Kelly, a current? U S, Senator from Arizona, John Mccain's state.
Arizona so John agrees. Old seeds is actual cedar cedar interesting, currently sitting a drama games, dusk. Now then the drinking beer that he had an open them for free, so Scott, how did you prepare on earth to go into space? Well, there's a lot of preparation. I think more focused on the physical part of its insistence that you know how does this relate to were to sports why don't we just keep back twenty thousand astronaut office as a workout facility with really good the trainers instructors? Are they also? you just gotta to use all the exercise of women which the equipment used in space, which is very important because it somewhat Some are complicated and take some good technique to use, but mostly for a space like what were you know, are briefly
preparation with regard to physical activities, more just about staying, Elsie and being able to do the job. You know, which means being a space for a long time in the stressors that puts on your body and also to do spacewalk switch the pretty challenging thing to do to track it. Can you compare what we all saw him the movie the right stuff, with whatever you might have through as the original mercury. Seven it looked like night. I don't wanna do go through the truth, profusion, the survival and this and and so help how soft or you compared with the original seven, I'm not sure you know I'm a little older than they were when they are. They started not older than they are now, of course, because I was worried most before my time But you know regarding the book the right stuff, the movie you mention the movie. I think I maybe maybe salt once really the right. The book was much more significant.
part of my life. I really wish list. Is fire me you gonna, better student and to go on and lie in the navy then later that assets so yet a type of stuff. You saw the movie and less related well in the book. such as the astronaut selection part. You know somebody uncomfortable less of it in the area Go through that you know the different, you know exams, You have to go through from you know it's a very thorough, like you know, I examination to make sure your visions good witch in some ways. It's a little bit uncomfortable, believe it or not all the way. You know through your gastrointestinal system, Cardio, vascular, less stuff they tested were claustrophobia, and how do they do that? they put you in a rubber baggily cannot grow up into a ball, is like thick rubber bag very
heavy jeopardy lectures on you and put you into a closet and don't are you how long you gonna be there? So, ok, you, I thought, her phobia. I went to scream right now, just listening, so that- and I think I feel like I feel like calling for help for some reason right now, and they told you that was a test that you said that you sound like a bunch of police Franklin The debt after they gave you the Reggie is that would actually happen there? are you wouldn't want to have claustrophobia and get into his face and figure? when you're doing space we ass, I was going to study the impact What you're low earth orbit I feel a little late to figure that out guys guys actually carried out Get me down like this.
several astronauts were were previous athletes, like Buzz Aldrin. I knew he was a track and field athlete even did the the poverty. I think it was so did you do and sports when you're in college what is in high school, not a very good one. I was there. Captain of my slanting, I'm a decent swimmer, but I should have been the gap in issues are team was so bad when we got you won the poverty contest cause. You ended up in space. eventually failed over every night everyone on the team, including my brother, who is also a pole. Vaulter and the reason I sailed over him is because I want one of those, humble missions. is much higher than the ever went to hire workers than the space station. That's right! That's right by, but none but a hundred miles, or so settling rivalry school, I'm interested because going into
for a year, and we know now I'll hold my hand up astronauts, hourly athletes. You ve got amazing company could scales high, two and strengthen conditioning the disease buddhas. Anything you find on a minute, food or anywhere else for that matter, etc. Except for curling religious shock. You ve got to the top of Mount Olympus there. Really ways we can be speaking to Doktor Mason a little bit later on in this pod, Carson in a stick around for that place and all our listeners. He said to us that you said when you were in space. It felt like your owns one melting and back up the blood work and the urine samples proved that you were draining counts here. They are women told about athletes, you can feel and suitably no drone body. How did you come to that conclusion?
I never said that the inside my bones were melting. Did I doubt, very much said the doktor masons that either certainly we lose a lot of bone mass in space in a one percent a month. If he didn't do anything to prevent its upper, we do. Fortunately, we do a lot of exercise, most resistant exercise, specifically elsewhere. and I did lose some bone mass and you know that don't show up in your urine samples, thereby bodies are really smart in a week, evolved in gravity in once you get this. a sure disease He recognizes, there's no more gravity, no more need for us gelatin to supporting the first Ruth getting greenness. So your own rooted. Is becoming a pile of echo. Pleasant up can be done by a sort of a
while all this is going on in your body in your bodies? Is there a point like when we people we speak to him? two on vague, and I say it takes a couple of weeks and then they kind of feel the hull working for them. Is it it same situation for nobody in space where'd! You go over this bump in the road and after that we feel comfortable with things it is all different levels of adaptation in on a short term flight on us on a spatial I d Process really goes exists for a few days where you might no longer be nauseous in you can feel you still feel great, but you feel enough to do your job, and then you come all on a long duration of why I found the milestones to be more like you don't want it about a month in space and then where you can, Now kind of you know
move around very efficient way, you can think pretty. Clearly you know your head is in as swollen as it is when you first get up there, because you know our cardiovascular system again about the push blood hence gravity, and without that your head get swollen but I would say over the course of being never an entire year. I always felt better in every way, but I never felt I was on earth. but my head was little swollen. My science, These were a little congested because of that I only You know like most of the time a low rate headache because of the carbon dioxide, but united maybe there is a maybe there the point out. There's some kind of inflection point: where are you staying? these long enough you. You know you do feel like you're on earth. Perhaps rather you feel like you're someplace else, and then, when you go to earth, earth becomes completely weird right with you, just completely physiologically adapt to wear.
than earth becomes the where the get round give you a pretty good beat down upon return their size speaking of the chains and adaptation. So I read that when you return upon inspection when they got under the herd to see what was going on with your dna, that seven percent of your dna actually saw some change now it, I guess subsequently has returned to its regular state or what happened with that? That seven percent am am what exactly was the chains that did we find out exactly what the change was a trick. We know they didn't making regrow hair. That was a chance. It did not
Having only is great life is. This is like the perfect air force me to go back some actual what shape for me was my dna, but also our name protein. So what changes? Seven percent of my Jean expression, okay and Jean expression of, is whether these things, if you think of him as a switch turned on and off of honor off and their expression controls. You know our physiology, how our bodies reacted things now they behave this will be requesting for Christmas, and but my case, seven, some of that change over there worth a year now grant you know. All of us are probably change in a little bit all the time, but I think It was more more interesting because it how it changed compared my brother was in on earth. Gender
a minor change relative am, I think, more so for a year and then what is it? What is the implication of the implications of that for a futures these travellers, and also my sorry for my else going forward and all of them we'll find out Why do I say that your your chromosomes actually got longer and to- and here I am solid, so advanced medical training- but actually major younger son, what you're referring to his mind, telling me realities like any caps on our chromosomes and as we age and ourselves divide those get shorter. and more afraid, so. You tell him years really in an indication of the physical age in the hypothesis was weeping and space always radiation, microgravity, environment, the stress, sir. In all these different factors, it worked together again, chrome chromosomes to shorten them as compared to my brother.
surprisingly, we found out that they actually improved now. Initially we thought- maybe that's due to the exercise. We don't turn exercise on board. Maybe they die, which is no different than a terrestrial diet, is more control by scientific. Maybe that was helpful, So that's what they actually thought at first, but then six months or a year after I got back from space. We learn that the Japanese had this experiment tell him years on the space station. At the same time, I was there small, worse tell him years got better and I never once saw those guys workin out on the treadmill or any other is clearly more deadly sin no way Scott. How many dangling Variables were between you and mark. So, for example, do they may mark eat the same food? You did. Did he exercise at the same time? You did so that you have localize the effect of being in space as the only difference
between the two of you or was he partying and drinking? And so Are you gonna, let around me as I said does the only. I think everyone realises that the including yourself, clearly there you know, the way you would normally do a scientific experiment is to control a lot of these external factors and variables and focus on you know like the one thing your driver. Investigate all things in our basic legal, grey where'd you talk about. Maybe my brother falling Saint Diet. Maybe following the same, exercise protocol? But you know he had his own life. He traveled did you work in different parts of it? country really wasn't practical. So it always sir and experiment that involves some interesting
information is more of a you know. I want you to know kind of experiment. You know comparing meta my brother over a long period of time in other astronauts and not something where you're looking at a very specific control, very large sample group, as know what you're comparing this me as the scientists subject to The echoes, if you did, if you were to do that perfectly, you would lock him into a vessel the size of your space station module four years as well, I mean so that their been the only difference is you are zero g? above all atmosphere only the past, I forgot it sector the plastic bag scenario that when the three four cluster of both the lock him in the cupboard for a year, the one thing we get asked all the time and Neil is brilliant. With these sort of answers is what, if we did this or on this planet right am I
we talking to one of the few people he has come as close So anybody is doing spoke of world even if it exists eyes. All three straws unabated water. So it's. What did you think you could achieve in terms of small whilst european space for a year You know, I think you would have to design a sports. Specifically, for microgravity? I would be hard to translate. You know. Sport better conducted under gravity? two microgravity and have worked same way? Certainly, we know we try things in space for fun all of them one times it took me a few months, but I was able to throw it from the front of the space station. No, to all away into the service module of the rest the statement which, Probably like maybe several hundred feet away, and there was
boundless space to get it through the mass, but I don't know, maybe get a wrestling be pretty injuries failure on selling face. Are you a thin somebody now the idea, so I think you're right. You have to start from scratch and say what are some zero g athletic feats that we would, because you know faster- higher stronger? Whatever is the olympic motto they have to even adjust that majestic strength. I don't take on a different meaning in space, because any force will send something into emotion yeah? So ok, so me a book you, I think you should refer I'll, tell you what I think the thing that would be competitive would be how you're able to very precise Lee Maneuver, your body around in zero gravity cause
You know over the course, the longer you there, the better you get. I and ass, really a skill to learn. So there could be certain things like you know, just being able to you know, do like a flip in in the middle of the marginal and see, who can do it the longest without actually getting anything nowadays that now we ve actually getting ready jack button? space, gymnastics scholars, space from ethics. Everything they do on the four exercises in things you just do in space, and you don't have to touch back down that. I, like that wealth and about synchronize swimming if they had some swimming pool, their big blob of water, he loaded and through the block of order, and then you have cameras from all directions, Debbie interests too.
dream? On competition? We have spoken a lot about the future the conversion of you how the mental version reviewed because I'm Oh did you took a gorilla suits into space. Is another is that you did being told a lie now, my brother sent me a gorilla soon, but I take it. Why are you sending me guerrilla suit? Me said? Well there's never been a gorilla suit in space, so I'm sending you one and you have no control over. visiting only secondary photo of you and there will be like big foot, is in space. Every I'm. These stories are getting lost in translation range. How are you are you always international inquiry? National is Jeffrey. I cannot divulge myself ceased. You know the rules on this chuck about
guys we got it. We got take this break, but Scott Kelly's book is a year in space. A lifetime of discovery definitely check it out and when we come back, we're going to introduce Christopher Mason he's the medical doctor who conducted the except governments on Scott, while he was in space for a year and is his tests that gives us this glimpse into the effect of humans space white on human genetics. So stay Are you always certain cure you family? Do you often take Europe? Others in that yourself? Well, now is the time to take care of yourself because you deserve it tell adopt, gives you access to license therapists to help you get back to feeling your best to feeling like yourself again sometime we don't know how much we need to talk to somebody. Take it from me personally
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and when you are ready to launch use the offer code start talk to save ten percent up your purse, purchase of a website or domain that square space. Tat comes last start talk, offer a code, starred talk for ten percent off your purse, purchase We're back start talks were tradition, bring the rights tat. We came out of a segment with one of the Kelly twins, who's been in space for a year, and we I found out that a lot of medical experiments were conducted in trying to find out how his body, compared with his twin mark, who he left here on earth. We ve got right now the doktor, who analyzed him not a crystal formation Chris
welcome to start off as a pleasure to be here thanks for having given me, get you're you're you're title straight here: Socio, professor and director, the world want initiative for quantitative prediction that I get there that's right. It's all. There then an needs, a new special agent, physiology and Biophysics one of my favorite fields. If I were not an astrophysicist I'd, be a bio physicists, I'm totally with you on that, and what is that file family, a brain and minus two to what is that this be looking at cognitive trades? in general for it, when you large scale studies, including labour astronauts, but then also looking for genes irresponsible, Brain develops or responds to stress Does this zero families, yeah, ok, very interesting and also the Institute for computational Biomedicine at the Wild Cornell, while Cornell Hospital or letters of medicine, ok, excellent, you the right guy for this review by the left behind this notice is just a guy
Let people know that you came fifteen minutes late to this interview, because Europe, by talking to the CDC and there's, no excuse that there's a whole raised? You are right. We were matters here, just a vision deemed imitated viruses, border on population, retail viruses. That's not an excuse to write so you're you're the words associated with your profession. I got one here be transcript, home MEG met a genome, transcript tone ebbed genome. What does what is all that? I also Do look out fifty thousand a timer right there, where she's gonna in parliament we delegate Chris? What does what is all that happened?
so it is every layer of biology being studied in its totality, so think about deprived Everyone remembers DNA in Armenia and protein kind of this idea of the central dogma of molecular. what happens in yourselves and how do you go from? You know what and so when you're, an embryo everyone here started as one cell or this you should have. If you didn't please, call me later. We should experiments on you, It could have been one. So when you start in all the instructions are there to come all the other cells in your body, which is where it was beautiful things, genetics and but to make that happen, and you need to control the dna, the irony the protein at every stage of development and also in the space, for example, so the old the Germans, the dna, the transfer from the RNA proteome, is applied. genes and all the arms and between her desk totality of studying how those marshals interact in the body ok, but the IP genome is. That is something that happens later corrected. You know what something this sort of your born with. What's going on there,
Happy is Greek for, on top of so you still have your genome. You know it's only a four letter alphabet that comprises the entire genetic code for all of life back to this, but then, on top of that there epigenome Ryan top of that are small chemical, he's, the change how and when and where something its use, and so, if you can package dna and I'd, make us inaccessible, turn things offer you can slowly. Sprinkle kind of like snow is ever genetic marks that turn the mind from them off. So these every genetic mar said. Is it true or do you or has not been done to study if MD trauma over a period of time leads to a chain. In genetics down the lie suffering in since last year, say I'm. A survivor of you know homelessness right when I'm a little kid and I go to listen
terrible trauma, and then I give birth to somebody or better. Yet my mom. It goes homeless, while she's carrying me so take those two scenarios: why? My mom is homeless, suffers that trauma and then to I'm home was suffering the trauma so one I'm following a child, one I'm giving birth to a child. Will it have indeed an effect? An epidemic get trends generation, France, generational effect. So this is a big question. It's at hotly debated in the fields It's never genetics. We know in mice the answer is definitely Yes in worms the answers, definitely, yes, we can see evidence of multigenerational impacts where the genetic code is saying it was carbon. I suggest a glance at the mouse line. That is, they're. All the same genetic background is no change in the genetics. It's only the epidemics and you can. You can see it. You can see those small chemical tweets in my eyes were essentially
If you ve been lean, you might have a better chance of being only a mouse later generations or obese as well. You can switch it up and in and see elegans or even a case where work by a better job. He said worms at our cover. Antiviral response can pass on for up to three generations, but then it slowly fades away so that we know it possible biologically, but in humans hotly debated, The best example is that in world war to a lot of the mothers that were never famished because of the latter restrictions, they didn't even a food food. There were a lot of downstream health that negative because of that It is therefore epidemiological events, but it's hard to do the same experiment. Humans. Do you do with with mighty can't force humans? They have children who you want you. I mean you ve been kinder with an ass these days, but it's his aunt. You can do in a controlled national interest and register
Under control the router making China closer based, sir, so what one can you just blew past? I want to make sure we'd like pause and reflect on that amazing fact that in the world of experimental physiology, there are catalogues, were you can order up any number of identical mice at someone else? had experimented on in some other country at another time they found some effect. So you can forget that strain of my It is identical dna to that other mouse, so that now you can look for the solar well to China. Are you saying that they then keep that that line that, yes, it's gotTA, Germany, that that's why I can't just blew by like everybody knows, there's nobody, but it's ok Leave an ideal experimental lab animal is right. Yeah? But I don't think that I get it. I did. I get their record that this body,
and you can get one specific mutations, one that you know, age faster, like produce area are ones that have higher propensity for diabetes or obesity or cancer. You can make almost any kind of those who want to use this summer. How do you guys do you have a little mouth brothel? That's what he was about to watch a behave. What what it does is to make us still Kelly going to space with ease. genetically identical twins. Brother on earth even more fantastic. That's why Doktor Mason was the ideal person to study this that we have it. Ok, We don't have whole colonies of identical more Kelly's, but we had to ignore or to you by their mothers there, their mother. So what we did, what we look
Before specifically, did you know what questions you wanted to answer before it all began or we're just gonna do so to do a scatter, scatter experiments. He whatever shows up. We had some hypotheses going in, but for the most part, We weren't shore and a NASA was ensure nobody was sure what would be the a facet of biology that would change the most is the dna is at the army's the protein? Is the micro biomarker microorganisms your body users, iron retinal damage, has been studied before we had no idea. So I think that best thing to do, and you don't know where to look is to look everywhere. You possibly can so in this case we pull basics of them. kitchen sink of molecular biology and biophysical, SAM and everything we could about everything was going in their body and out of their body and in some parts in on their bodies, while the microphone, and so this so we sequence their genome, the genome of
was in their stores, we got em some space poop and also some space skin samples, the steward, but bacteria are changing and viruses, but is often Herpes gets reactivated and a lot of astronauts and about forty percent of em. I Herpes gets here, then systems of its presence? A herpes calmly activate enemies. They had it already gambler, and now resonating wait a minute, her early sprays, Herpes here, where we actually, I know it's early in the day, but will already be there if you just begin but wait a minute. Just you again. You just blew by something. I just got him a pause you for a moment, so you not only concern yourself with the health and wellbeing of Scott Kelly. You also suit yourself with the health and well being of the bacteria real stowaways that are in his got an hour on his skin. eliza doing exactly I mean basically, because biology is driven
by human cells and microbial cells would be a good geneticist. You have to look at all kingdoms of life for every patient, so now old man tat makes it's ok. First of all, how do you had all this data? I mean seriously just just this. One person is praised. The transfer of data comes back to you, it's got to be overwhelming. It's gotta be huge, a tidal wave of of just bits and bite. So an invite you start talking about the microbial aspect of this you're looking at all other universe, inside of a human being that your teacher de jure quantifying measuring at the same time have? How did you do that it? What lots of sequencer. So let me live its petty bites of data. It is, I mean we have abolished elaborate from most laboratory these days. Mine included, it's it's biology is genetics, but about sixty five. Seventy percent of it is a dry labs. All computational is people who just your programme,
They just do informatics, the other third of it is more the wet lab, and so the lad becomes kind of half way after I like a human door or like an arm tat, it depends on what they feel like it has put them over half way I do not need to hear that about that other thing. I just got a glacier on the same page. Our views went right through better by so that's the next metric group of a thousand that follows gigabyte. So we have the terrible, terrible, terrible gigabyte terabytes an impediment. So, thank you for this, more data, then even you ever bestowing on your computer, Ryan Mozilla highlights. How are you reacting to data in real time, or is it a case of it would that when you get back, can I mean it? am I mean I'm not getting my facts so wrong on the show. It's that, yes, the I'm gonna break records on shore. Is there a mini sequencer on the International Space Station If I dreamt that was there is, there is a lot of that
me sequence, all the molecules, the dna Yarn and you ve been track. These proteins with the with the seek answers to Normally he's really big machines. These giant machines may, like illumine airport virus from the bigger companies in the space, and omissions are big, but the smaller ones made by coming a large Fernando four out of the UK. They make their just blew the sizes, something you'd, say: half the size, your phone or even says your phone, they are and you can do sequencing in space. We demonstrated this with Kate Rubens who's up in the space station. Right and I was just email with her yesterday. She has more to do it for the first time in twenty sixteen and now it is a standard flight hardware. You can sequence anything you want, read it and space read what my guy That's so gotta do Yeah, it's happening refer, you didn't see, you can kill someone, and quickly, vibrant said mountain and sequence, infancy. To date, this person anymore, it's twenty three million tinder coming. The other is finally happened. let's go so gardener was a movie reference for those who are younger than
What are you employed away? If you haven't seen you gotta get a life, it's a good, my mom it it's a great film affected, letters in the title of the movie are you're only Russia where it had desired. You gotta get out now so Sulkin. Can I just ask about this microbial because anxious when you think about the human gut and the fact that most of us dummy most of our insides is not right at the heart of every, if you think about it, must work in size is not us. So did you find anything that might either enhance our ability for long term space travel or detract from our a bill? for long term space travel less about. I was thinking to Gary's question what we and monitoring in real time if you knew sky Kelly was like dying from something You say over not tell we need the data because they just take this donut
just ass the eye with and see whether the latter, the biochemistry the microbes, contributes to our own. The biology of vitamin levels, for example. That in be three, be six allows made by the microbes in your gets. You can see. Is the company changing unaware that negative, but also some of the microbes, makes any call their academic acid, which has some radio protective capabilities wells and is an ongoing questions of. Could you protect us, now through at least give them good nutrition, but maybe give them, even though their radio protection inside and out. It is ongoing research now sign an hour later. When you see radio protection, you mean radiation from space. yeah look like the comic cosmic, greater still gonna blow right. Three about everything about law, ready Asian there are sort of secondary radiation, might help you with that in clarifying that. So let me ask you this Neil. How do you deal with, like you know the varieties of radiation that you will experience once you are, you know, there's no magnetic field,
there's? No, what do you do? The urge to trial find a biological solution to this, I think, will end the feudal relative to engineers can design and so it doesn't take much thickness of water, for example. Here to completely shield you most have what's damaging around the sun, so you can imagine enveloping this the spacecraft and do a membrane derive some kind of fluid membrane and there could be some other recycled water that use soft. I'm not worried about that. It was all about the radiation we got clever engineers does the least to my worries. Ok, I'm a sense. So there is what was a most interesting centre. Results. maybe the most disturbing the same breast, but some and the lessons we ve actually picked up from scratch here in space I'm an where are you hiding the Andromeda straight ahead with its in the phrase
there is? I may always know I mean it's gonna, be there know that answer so there were things really surprising to see actually how plastic the body was. Many many things changed that were stress responses in flight, but anyone you landed. He really is a body broke out into a rash when his ankles fold up at the size of basketballs, but it went back to normal. So a lot of the body did return normal, but he did, we did see increasing. damage to dna. We know you d, get radiated, says something to keep an eye on. Tell him years got. Little bit longer. We he see was surprising. One of them has raised surprising, as we can see, is immune system. We can see which bacteria it was actually engaging with because we also sequence the walls of the space station and we can see the bacteria, that is its bodies and engaging with any immune says you can actually see them the tea cells in his by becoming more active towards those specific microbes. what kind of a really interesting results? Ok, so it means you could not up front disentangle the effects of zero g, for it is a slightly lower, pressurized environment.
Versus the red, the radioactive exposure that he's getting older. are happening together, because when I think of microbes, did you really care? How much gravity. There is like that even a hole in a world where similar to be no other forces dominate what role gravity would play so It sounds like most of what you're fighting has nothing to do with zero g. Yet we think it's a lot of its did the stress on the body. Sometimes you get local hypoxia just because a small clouds obscure to Kosair doesn't move the same way in space as it does here on earth. and stay a little bit right your face. You can see some of that in the blood work, even something you see that you see their dinner centre, the radiation distress of that fight like a cat fan with you, where you got a lot of bans and if they station to make sure they are moved circulation lasted. So scotch in space for a year. That's not the record, is it now. The reform has been lacking, many things together. That's that's once put it
because they punish somebody to put him up. I think that he had no. What happened was the airline, Russia's riches breeders did everything in Spain First First satellite non human animal first, human first woman first blackbirds and they had everything and then we landed on the moon. We say we win were so having Goodbye. We will need to do experiments as you did the scope for even longer periods of time, not enter the length of time, possibly because what is it nine months to get two miles, the projection traffic that, alongside a bad one so the test? Can you conducts? What sort of time A human exist in space at this particular point our technological evolution, or that there are plain offered in eighteen months, it's gonna be a barrage of six and twelve month additional missions to follow up on the twin study. So about the time We send people. The Mars, in our view, has now said: twenty thirty five. If you asked you, I'm muskets twenty twenty six or something so
I've had some yet I mean you ve never been overcome. No, you don't think we're gonna go, they never there's a whole other down. I don't I don't get me started, actually you oughta Holbrooke and thinking about humans in the future, the next five hundred years, when we take a break. I will come back and just explore where that book goes and Why and what you found and what your insights are as a medical professional will be right back on Startalk, hey it's time to acknowledge our patreon patrons Jamie ferns at them settle and Peyton HAWK. Thank you so much guys without you. We couldn't make this trek across the cosmos and for anybody else who would like their very own patreon shout out please for the patreon dot com.
YO and support us start off sports addition. We let off with Scott Kelly one of the twins who went into space, a study by our current gas. We ve got Doktor Mason here who's. Who is an expert? on the human genome and Human physiology and biophysics than either right guy in the right place, doing the right thing so again, thanks for being on our show, so let me ask you: did What is anything we learned that we can apply to the rest of us, even if we're not going into space from what you studied with more Kelly's physiology,
yeah the coup in always studied? We burn I've anyway, specific. Maybe we can know about pandemics or anything. I got a sort of throw that in the mix viruses yet there our physiology earlier response distress for example. So it's amazing is we about a year ago we know we started getting a lot of samples from the hospital near Proletarian the covered nineteen patients coming and we started sequencing them applies in the exact same molecular technologies that we did the Kelly twins, another astronauts, and we can actually see, for example, something that look just like like that, like the stress of landing backers base again: Interleukin Lucan six as it inside a kind of inflammatory signally molecule that really slow, except when he landed. So we landed back in her to looked at his body. Basically was saying oh crap in Ireland, breaking on Russia's I'm in a lot of pain, and it was good you can see. These hurricanes is pro and anti inflammatory signal signals and mobile battling it, when I left, because he had landing anxiety, it's because the body was beginning to feel gravity once again, exactly exactly, and so they getting back to work,
me, the body of releases, all these signals that it kind of an alarm bell to say: okay, we need to begin to use their muscles rebuild their bones, even though they work on the space station and try to prevent as much of that as possible. It feels different when you come back, before one July and your whole body the whole time it did herds of it and we can see some of the same signature shoving covered patient. So it's interesting is We felt was able, as your thing was the list of possible medications that you could use when you land and gravity. If you haven't been in gravity a lot of them, overlap with what are now being used for therapies for cover nineteen, which no you have predicted a year ago, but now we can see it and then even The sequence very. Is, though, time sequencer, which are used in space. They gives you sequence data. We know within minutes we now sequence or other viruses on its ambition. While you know this, is this house like some bad ass stuff, when we introduced you as associate professor, why aren't you
for professor, I think for the leader just got promoted. Just it is now for progressive, while Cornell didn't promote you, we would. You are now knighted and progressive is unfamiliar with academia, for professor is really simply if you have a higher salary, but as all the other expectations are the same of you exclude chief stay bad ass, that is because forty had tenor so that isn't it there's no threat or old here So when you look at our skies and you're looking at his physiology is there's something that we can take away from that for, like our daily exercise, I swear to you and things like that. Like I read somewhere. That running, for instance, helps increase. Bone density like the pounding actually does something to tell your brain to strengthen your bones is everything that we can take like that from
your studies front from these be seen. I do women they ran. Space is actually you know, they have to wear Bunge accords to keep himself down, but that at that- hammering on your knees and it tells your bones to really maintain this this homeostasis and there's something called armies were treating. You can push yourself a little bit if you ever lived, wait till the bit. You push yourself hard. You can have sore that next day, but it's good sore, and so we ve seen some that you need actually push yourself a little bit more. If you can Every time you work out, I'm breaker every time. But it helps to do so now and again and is causing help stimulate the body that way. So you push yourself a little bit is one simple than they do actually with some of their exercise regiments in space and also a merry monitoring the body that you see we get off Scot free. when he talked about in his book that if you didn't work out every day, you can almost feel like his bones were dissolving, which is often, Think about, but then is amazing in the urine data we could see the calcium coming out of his body.
so he wasn't imagining. It was actually happening and if you don't have that consistent activation of your bodies rebuild You know you, your atrophied. Your bones are fully doorway progress. I have to just correct something. You said you said that the bunch accords keep them down but in space. Ladies and gentlemen, I just want you to keep on our legislators. You got for professor. Tell me, your name is no doubt in space. Would similarly so cheap. You pulled towards the running machine wherever that running machinery is the cases Scots got a book out a year. base a lifetime of discovery. But your book, professor, the next five hundred years interest isn't going Arafat. I would sum drama, please, the next five hundred years, giving them an emotion and that by gas a spit. A red? Coming to you very shortly that five years I Professor Mason,
What what is it asked orange if we go back five hundred years, the the is discovered. Ferdinand Mcgowan discovers Guam. Now it's ancient. That's like citing ships and weird in a hundred years, five hundred years time, we can be looking back at your workin out, which is so exciting thing s ancient. building on land land, that's my second great homework is exactly so. I mean how people gonna do this way. Reese five hundred years, Can we do alchemy it there's a lot? There's a million questions during a binding. I think you know what has happened and, finally, your eye, it's it's a treatise of hope. I guess, if you put it together, what I think You can view and also should do in that we have a duty to do so. Nothing of duty, most immediately get sleepy thing about duty to what do I feed my cats.
Maybe your spouse, maybe your country as maybe patriotic that you hope we have a duty to hear a kid said, but even that is not guaranteed rights. we were just completely forego their duty, but there is. One duty that we have as humans that as soon as you understand, it is actually something you can control and even have influence on the universe is just being aware of extinction where the old they species that we know that is aware of extinction. Suddenly, The duty to prevent it now on their own, but also any other species in life form that we come across. So we have a duty to the universe, is actual at the moment, you realize that you understand what extinction is and what we do. You have a duty to a species that would go extinct without us because the jetty of life is there's no end of extinction; nothing to do with us and the fact that the dinosaurs went extinct, pride, open and ecological niche that allowed us to rise up, so we you to pass judgment on what life form should or should not go extinct? If we have nothing to do with that,
I didn't even independent of whether we cause it acknowledges that life said it. I start from the premise that that life and actually self aware life, It is light as aware of extinction. Is you He can the universe and and any other life that doesn't have. It doesn't have this duty, so even extinct life, even if we did causing you can bring it back that you have to be carefully, because what did you bring it back to bring back dinosaurs they? Probably with rampage through that made up solely by so you know, I think we just turn on an island, a small islands that we could go wrong right in my book. Ankara. Nobody about conceptually is there their species because causing extinction and ethically a moral duty to train even bring them back, especially this with genetic technology. We can do so those same technologies and allow us to make immediate therapies where you can engineer, teach us to go after cancer cells very explicitly
this idea of genome engineering, and so your engineering is already deployed in clinical trials around the world and cement same technology. Let us be sure that their safe guardians and shepherds of life, maybe even bring it back, but that is where no hurry to do that. I would be very slow I'd like this, every five like that, so you do not some safe. I guy thinking what now who contraption we're gonna, have a witness spaceship you thinking of our duty, to ourselves, to our civilization and to the planet and our ecosystem. I think that's a noble cause. So in five hundred years, if all goes as you want What what? What is it all apply solely would again about the Mars adventure, which is the first step on a stairwell towards preservation, does like every moral case and it comes immediately clear when you pull out a billion years. That's when the sun gets big enough to start a heat. The earth and it's really anywhere. Bolivia got five years. The sun's probably be at the surface of the of the earth like they're gonna, be touching and kissing. So no matter what we do. We achieve perfect pieces species, imperfect technological, both were still physically here.
You know we really even in a billion years and that's it for us inside, I think they're worth preserving and that means eventually have to start going. So we have to start to go to the moon to Mars by foreign of yours now we might do they get to have some people and tighten and at the other book, Yours I say we might have enough. Now understanding physiology together. Then people on it was called the generation ship revolving dive, multiple generations, on the way towards a new star, so the boy are. You include the EU, including in this genetic modifications to Us Emily Reserve. My gravity, and this right Because I think we may need to the other option, if you send humans do planet that they now have all that, as I just said, good luck and hopefully survive. But if you have biochemical and genetic capacity to protect people- and we don't use it, that would be actually more and at the base that we can actually protect you from asking it works, and it safe, of course, which we have to prove ethics is a big part of this book. So what about the ethics of sending a group of fertile people into space who then give birth to a next generation?
Generational ship and that generation is stop is born only ever knowing that their job is to have another generation. So that some generation online gets to land at getting it gets the prize, and so isn't that a form of prison prisoners what I want to call that a form of early civilised asian here on earth. It because, honestly, that's all earlier civilization, whatever that's all ever, was its spirit. We are on this. Rocks, but an overhaul and babies in this new belief and our learning as it have some babies we're stuck here. We gotta have more baby so that we can stay here and now here we are where we are still a billion others, thereby Raymond involution has been migration that, whether its being north, south, EAST West, mainly EAST West, because a temperate zones in the recent soda but once we kind of got your point on this planet and my to another seems to be. just another development of all
humans mean omen, yeah, I know, but moment be got Russia and China joining forces to build some sort of bases on the moon around the moon. I mean we look. this Chris S, because I think that this problem Scott experience coming back ass the year in space physically would be you things like Moon basis, for the man settings comes back into one g rather than just come straight back to us absolutely Ruby. Germany has one six gravity therein Mars's in thirty eight percent gravity. So hopefully these are give you little stepping stones and be as bad, but then eventually anything about people who just live, nothing about it, the Australians when they were left England they had, they got a different accent to get different culture to get you on a different plane. You get different physiology as well, so we would expect them to become different. plus the deer in Australia, pouches so I am hopeful that work.
breathing about the book. I guess. At the end of the day, we ve discovered a new genes that we didn't know existed even twenty years ago. We discover these planets actual plant, they didn't even know twenty five years ago. So I got him twin engine then discovery, because now we know what you can use the understanding and keep us safe. Eventually, we know which plans to get him to go to so I hope five hundred years from now, we would pick the best one or several and people therein and maybe we'd, get some interesting sitcoms. They get broadcast from this other new planet potentially, but I think it's brilliant to have this addition to the futurists folio, because it's usually some technologies did some fantasy writer. Is it somebody imagine a future and you're coming at a physiologically. I think that's that's a brilliant construct for both. and will look for the best seller list. If it's not already there because that's totally what we should all be thinking about, rather than just
next, two years and next for years for an election is anyone thinking about the next century there. So let me ask you this: how do you feel this is not related to anything that we're talking about? I'm just interested in your opinion on the project to take five hundred fertilized eggs and put them on the moon the same way we did with seeds. nan. Wherever we put the seeds, what was aiming to restore the monument to store them, one among the various basically like a sea ball, but for humankind, would be. They have to be really well maintained up there I give you a tardy grids, fell on the moon when the israeli spacecraft crashed down there and you're and a half ago. So then I think those of all then probably irradiated and not useful, but I think if there are very deep, Then came a raid and other large floating
I see the right movies grist. Everything irradiated becoming big and greens on transferring a ray of age at all, so there so I mean I think it's I think, preserving you know we can actually embed loaded genomes now In a digital code, it has been guardsmen caught the genome arc project sequencing. Is Any genomes on earth is possible, is kind of a reservoir of human. And biological diversity of everything. We know on earth, and so I think that you can put it in digital format. Maybe someone good point because chart. I can write a book on engines and store the book I don't have to store. The engine Why are you to read the book, the information about the engine and then rebuilding engine, so that so we gotta we gotta land is plain at some point. I dont Chris. Let me let me take us out with this final question to you. What have you genetically engineered in your basement?
We will tell me what you have said: you can whisper it. We want anybody, a couple of things you ve gotta vacant office. A company must we ve got a butterfly the tastes like barbecue. We do have one thing in eleven through those with a gene from vertebrates can resist radiation, put them into human cells, and now they have eighty percent more resistant radiation. So is something we have their maternity leave, and now you can actually gonna take some these immune function genes in October. Cells or orders, home means you can go repair, Chernobyl, potentially a minute Any genius for many species on this planet or others can be essentially genetic toolbox of surviving long term breakers nature already gave it to you just rearranging, moreover, very clear safely,
carefully and in one's base and not the release into the world? Yes, yes, you figure out a Chris good luck with the book. It's a fascinating topic and, I think, is an under served topic and you're there. Clearly the right person to put that out there. Oh thanks, you're gonna start talk. We would totally want to have you back on again because if, for no other reason find some reason to bring back. You do fascinating were correct wasting your promotion to professor, and so That means your old and gray. I think it is good and right on the smallest governance, given all right it is good to have you always a pleasure at are tweeting attract jackknife comic, Jerry tweeting made three LE feet that it direct yes yeah increase or you would you have social media presence yet not just nascent honest. LAB Mason, Latvia, Mason web right on twitter- I guess that is yes, yes, you're right will be keep an eye on you, alright, everyone. This had been start on sports addition, the right stuff,
and as always, I milligrams Thyssen bidding you to keep looking up.
Transcript generated on 2021-07-13.