- Covid JN.1 variant cases in India: Why do we see so many mutations? Microbiologist Dr. Sneha S Hegadi explains everything you need to know Times of India
- Coronavirus pandemic | JN 1 considered fastest spreading eNCA
- JN.1 COVID Variant Symptoms To Watch Out For: 10 Signs You Are COVID Infected | TheHealthSite.com TheHealthSite
- COVID-19 subvariant JN.1 is now dominant in Canada: What you should know about the strain as it spreads Yahoo Canada Shine On
- What is Covid JN.1 variant and where did it come from? Microbiologist Dr. Sneha S Hegadi addresses all the concerns Times of India
Tag Archives: mutations
Vulnerability to different COVID-19 mutations depends on previous infections and vaccination, study suggests – University of Cambridge news
- Vulnerability to different COVID-19 mutations depends on previous infections and vaccination, study suggests University of Cambridge news
- Vulnerability to different mutations of COVID-19 varies person to person, study finds ABC11
- A next-generation intranasal trivalent MMS vaccine induces durable and broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pnas.org
- Response to different COVID variants depends on previous exposure, study suggests WRAL News
- Immune Response to COVID-19 Variants Depends on Prior Exposure and Vaccine Efficacy | Weather.com The Weather Channel
- View Full Coverage on Google News
COVID spread among deer who passed mutations back to humans — with scientists calling it a ‘unique public health risk’ – New York Post
- COVID spread among deer who passed mutations back to humans — with scientists calling it a ‘unique public health risk’ New York Post
- Coronavirus Probably Spread Widely in Deer and Perhaps Back to People, U.S.D.A. Says The New York Times
- Deer spread COVID to humans multiple times, new research suggests CBS News
- Covid-19 spread between humans and deer, study shows, raising concerns about animal reservoirs CNN
- “Reservoir Species” – USDA Releases Shocking Research on COVID-19 Transmission Between White-Tailed Deer and Humans SciTechDaily
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Scientists Warn That UV-Emitting Nail Polish Dryers Damage Human DNA and Cause Mutations
Researchers at UC San Diego studied the UV light-emitting devices used to cure gel manicures, and found that the chronic use of these nail polish drying machines is damaging to human cells. Credit: David Baillot/ UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
The ultraviolet nail polish drying devices used to cure gel manicures may pose more of a public health concern than previously thought. Researchers at the University of California San Diego studied these ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting devices, and found that their use leads to cell death and cancer-causing mutations in human cells.
The devices are a common fixture in nail salons, and generally use a particular spectrum of UV light (340-395nm) to cure the chemicals used in gel manicures. While tanning beds use a different spectrum of UV light (280-400nm) that studies have conclusively proven to be carcinogenic, the spectrum used in the nail dryers has not been well studied.
“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about,” said Ludmil Alexandrov, a professor of bioengineering as well as cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego, and corresponding author of the study published on January 17 in the journal 
Maria Zhivagui, a postdoctoral scholar in the Alexandrov Lab and first author of the study, prepares human cells in Petri dishes for exposure to the manicure curing device. Credit: David Baillot/ UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
Exposure to the UV light also caused mitochondrial and
“When I was doing my PhD, I started hearing about gel manicures, which last longer than normal polish. I was interested in trying out gel nail polish, particularly in the setting of working in an experimental lab where I frequently put gloves on and off, to maintain a presentable appearance,” said Zhivagui. “So I started using gel manicures periodically for several years. Once I saw the effect of radiation emitted by the gel polish drying device on cell death and that it actually mutates cells even after just one 20-minute session, I was surprised. I found this to be very alarming, and decided to stop using it.”
Studying their effect on human cells
The idea to study these particular devices came to Alexandrov in a dentist’s office, of all places. As he waited to be seen, he read a magazine article about a young beauty pageant contestant who was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer on her finger.
“I thought that was odd, so we began looking into it, and noticed a number of reports in medical journals saying that people who get gel manicures very frequently– like pageant contestants and estheticians– are reporting cases of very rare cancers in the fingers, suggesting that this may be something that causes this type of cancer,” said Alexandrov. “And what we saw was that there was zero molecular understanding of what these devices were doing to human cells.”
Three cell types were exposed to two different conditions: acute exposure and chronic exposure to the UV light device, pictured here. Credit: David Baillot/ UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
To conduct the study, Zhivagui exposed the three cell types to two different conditions: acute exposure and chronic exposure to the UV light device. Under acute exposure, Petri dishes containing one of the cell types were placed in one of these UV curing machines for a 20-minute session. They were then taken out for an hour to repair or return to their steady state, and then given one more 20-minute exposure. Under chronic exposure, the cells were placed under the machine for 20 minutes a day for three days.
Cell death, damage and DNA mutations were seen under both conditions, with an elevation of reactive oxygen species molecules– known to cause DNA damage and mutations– and mitochondrial dysfunction in the cells. Genomic profiling revealed higher levels of somatic mutations in the irradiated cells, with patterns of mutations ubiquitously present in melanoma patients.
Is the risk worth the reward?
This data in human cells, coupled with a number of prior reports of cancers in people who get gel manicures very frequently, paint a picture of a purely cosmetic procedure that is riskier than previously believed. But is getting a gel manicure once a year really cause for concern, or should only those who get this done on a very regular basis be worried? Further studies are needed to quantify any increased risk of cancer and at what frequency of use, but with plenty of alternatives to this cosmetic procedure, the risk may not be worth it to some consumers.
“Our experimental results and the prior evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers may cause cancers of the hand and that UV-nail polish dryers, similar to tanning beds, may increase the risk of early-onset skin cancer,” they write. “Nevertheless, future large-scale epidemiological studies are warranted to accurately quantify the risk for skin cancer of the hand in people regularly using UV-nail polish dryers. It is likely that such studies will take at least a decade to complete and to subsequently inform the general public. ”
Though other consumer products use UV light in the same spectrum– including the tool used to cure dental fillings and some hair removal treatments– the researchers note that the regularity of use, plus the entirely cosmetic nature of nail dryers, sets them apart.
Reference: “DNA damage and somatic mutations in mammalian cells after irradiation with a nail polish dryer” by Maria Zhivagui, Areebah Hoda, Noelia Valenzuela, Yi-Yu Yeh, Jason Dai, Yudou He, Shuvro P. Nandi, Burcak Otlu, Bennett Van Houten and Ludmil B. Alexandrov, 17 January 2023, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35876-8
Researchers find UV nail polish dryers can cause DNA damage and mutations
Since arriving on the market around 2010, gel manicures have become a staple in nail salons across the US and many parts of the world, and it’s easy to see why. Compared to traditional nail polish, gel variants are more resilient to damage and smudging, and they retain their shine until you remove the polish from your fingernails. Best of all, if you’re the impatient sort, you don’t need to wait an hour or more for a gel manicure to dry. Those benefits all come courtesy of the way the polish cures. Instead of waiting for a gel polish to dry naturally, you place your hands under a UV light, which activates the chemicals inside the gel, causing it to harden.
While the dangers of UV light — particularly in tanning settings — are well-known, before this week scientists had not studied how the ultraviolet lights used to cure gel polishes might affect human skin. You might think what we know about tanning beds applies here, but the devices used by nail salons emit a different spectrum of ultraviolet light. A group of researchers from the decided to study the devices after reading an article about a beauty pageant contestant who was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer.
Using different combinations of human and mouse cells, the researchers found a single 20-minute session with an ultraviolet nail polish dryer led to as many as 30 percent of the cells in a petri dish dying. Three consecutive 20-minute sessions saw 65 to 70 percent of the exposed cells dying off. Among the remaining cells, the researchers saw evidence of mitochondrial and DNA damage, in addition to mutations that have been seen in skin cancer patients.
“Our experimental results and the prior evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers may cause cancers of the hand and that UV-nail polish dryers, similar to tanning beds, may increase the risk of early-onset skin cancer,” the researchers write in a study published in the journal on Tuesday. They warn that a longer epidemiological study is needed before they can conclusively say the use of UV drying devices leads to an increased risk of skin cancer, adding “it is likely that such studies will take at least a decade to complete and to subsequently inform the general public.”
You might think the advice here is to avoid UV dryers, but it’s not so simple. Gel manicures have become an industry standard for a reason. For many people, regular nail polish starts to chip off after a day or so, making a traditional manicure often not worth the time, money or effort.
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Study finds that UV-emitting nail polish dryers damage DNA and cause mutations in cells
The ultraviolet nail polish drying devices used to cure gel manicures may pose more of a public health concern than previously thought. Researchers at the University of California San Diego have studied these ultraviolet (UV) light emitting devices, and found that their use leads to cell death and cancer-causing mutations in human cells.
The devices are a common fixture in nail salons, and generally use a particular spectrum of UV light (340-395nm) to cure the chemicals used in gel manicures. While tanning beds use a different spectrum of UV light (280-400nm) that studies have conclusively proven to be carcinogenic, the spectrum used in the nail dryers has not been well studied.
“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about,” said Ludmil Alexandrov, a professor of bioengineering as well as cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego, and corresponding author of the study published in Nature Communications. “But to the best of our knowledge, no one has actually studied these devices and how they affect human cells at the molecular and cellular levels until now.”
Using three different cell lines—adult human skin keratinocytes, human foreskin fibroblasts, and mouse embryonic fibroblasts—the researchers found that the use of these UV emitting devices for just one 20-minute session led to between 20 and 30 percent cell death, while three consecutive 20-minute exposures caused between 65 and 70 percent of the exposed cells to die.
Exposure to the UV light also caused mitochondrial and DNA damage in the remaining cells and resulted in mutations with patterns that can be observed in skin cancer in humans.
“We saw multiple things: first, we saw that DNA gets damaged,” said Alexandrov. “We also saw that some of the DNA damage does not get repaired over time, and it does lead to mutations after every exposure with a UV-nail polish dryer. Lastly, we saw that exposure may cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which may also result in additional mutations. We looked at patients with skin cancers, and we see the exact same patterns of mutations in these patients that were seen in the irradiated cells.”
The researchers caution that while the results show the harmful effects of the repeated use of these devices on human cells, a long-term epidemiological study would be required before stating conclusively that using these machines leads to an increased risk of skin cancers. However, the results of the study were clear: The chronic use of these nail polish drying machines is damaging to human cells.
Maria Zhivagui, a postdoctoral scholar in the Alexandrov Lab and first author of the study, used to be a fan of gel manicures herself, but has sworn off the technique after seeing the results.
“When I was doing my Ph.D., I started hearing about gel manicures, which last longer than normal polish. I was interested in trying out gel nail polish, particularly in the setting of working in an experimental lab where I frequently put gloves on and off, to maintain a presentable appearance,” said Zhivagui. “So I started using gel manicures periodically for several years. Once I saw the effect of radiation emitted by the gel polish drying device on cell death and that it actually mutates cells even after just one 20-minute session, I was surprised. I found this to be very alarming, and decided to stop using it.”
Studying their effect on human cells
The idea to study these particular devices came to Alexandrov in a dentist’s office, of all places. As he waited to be seen, he read a magazine article about a young beauty pageant contestant who was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer on her finger.
“I thought that was odd, so we began looking into it, and noticed a number of reports in medical journals saying that people who get gel manicures very frequently—like pageant contestants and estheticians—are reporting cases of very rare cancers in the fingers, suggesting that this may be something that causes this type of cancer,” said Alexandrov. “And what we saw was that there was zero molecular understanding of what these devices were doing to human cells.”
To conduct the study, Zhivagui exposed the three cell types to two different conditions: acute exposure and chronic exposure to the UV light device. Under acute exposure, Petri dishes containing one of the cell types were placed in one of these UV curing machines for a 20-minute session. They were then taken out for an hour to repair or return to their steady state, and then given one more 20-minute exposure. Under chronic exposure, the cells were placed under the machine for 20 minutes a day for three days.
Cell death, damage and DNA mutations were seen under both conditions, with an elevation of reactive oxygen species molecules—known to cause DNA damage and mutations—and mitochondrial dysfunction in the cells. Genomic profiling revealed higher levels of somatic mutations in the irradiated cells, with patterns of mutations ubiquitously present in melanoma patients.
Is the risk worth the reward?
This data in human cells, coupled with a number of prior reports of cancers in people who get gel manicures very frequently, paint a picture of a purely cosmetic procedure that is riskier than previously believed. But is getting a gel manicure once a year really cause for concern, or should only those who get this done on a very regular basis be worried? Further studies are needed to quantify any increased risk of cancer and at what frequency of use, but with plenty of alternatives to this cosmetic procedure, the risk may not be worth it to some consumers.
“Our experimental results and the prior evidence strongly suggest that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers may cause cancers of the hand and that UV-nail polish dryers, similar to tanning beds, may increase the risk of early-onset skin cancer,” they write. “Nevertheless, future large-scale epidemiological studies are warranted to accurately quantify the risk for skin cancer of the hand in people regularly using UV-nail polish dryers. It is likely that such studies will take at least a decade to complete and to subsequently inform the general public.”
Though other consumer products use UV light in the same spectrum—including the tool used to cure dental fillings and some hair removal treatments—the researchers note that the regularity of use, plus the entirely cosmetic nature of nail dryers, sets them apart.
More information:
Maria Zhivagui et al, DNA damage and somatic mutations in mammalian cells after irradiation with a nail polish dryer, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35876-8
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“Unlimited Possibilities” – New Law of Physics Could Predict Genetic Mutations
The researchers believe that they can exploit this new physics law and find the probability of mutations before they take place.
A University of Portsmouth research team has found a potential way to predict genetic mutations before they occur.
According to a University of Portsmouth study, a new physics law could allow for the early prediction of genetic mutations.
The study discovers that the second law of information dynamics, or “infodynamics,” behaves differently from the second law of thermodynamics. This finding might have major implications for how genomic research, evolutionary biology, computing, big data, physics, and cosmology develop in the future.
Lead author Dr. Melvin Vopson is from the University’s School of Mathematics and Physics. He states “In physics, there are laws that govern everything that happens in the universe, for example how objects move, how energy flows, and so on. Everything is based on the laws of physics. One of the most powerful laws is the second law of thermodynamics, which establishes that entropy – a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can only increase or stay the same, but it will never decrease.”
This is an undisputed law relating to the arrow of time, which demonstrates that time only moves in one direction. It can only flow in one direction and cannot travel backward.
He explains, “Imagine two transparent glass boxes. In the left side, you have red gas molecules, which you can see, like red smoke. In the right side, you have blue smoke, and in between them is a barrier. If you remove the barrier, the two gases will start mixing and the color will change. There is no process that this system can undergo to separate by itself blue and red again. In other words, you cannot lower the entropy or organize the system to how it was before without energy expense, because the entropy only stays constant or increases over time.”
Dr. Vopson is an information physicist. His research focuses on information systems, which can range from a laptop’s hard drive to the
Dr. Vopson and colleagues analyzed Covid-19 (Sars-CoV-2) genomes and discovered that their information entropy reduced with time: “The best example of something that undergoes a number of mutations in a short space of time is a virus. The pandemic has given us the ideal test sample as Sars-CoV-2 mutated into so many variants and the data available is unbelievable.”
He continues, “The Covid data confirms the second law of infodynamics and the research opens up unlimited possibilities. Imagine looking at a particular genome and judging whether a mutation is beneficial before it happens. This could be game-changing technology which could be used in genetic therapies, the pharmaceutical industry, evolutionary biology, and pandemic research.”
Reference: “Second law of information dynamics” by Melvin M. Vopson and S. Lepadatu, 11 July 2022, AIP Advances.
DOI: 10.1063/5.0100358
New COVID-19 Mutations Could Make Infected People Sick for a Longer Time
When the pharmaceutical industry scrambled to develop the first COVID vaccines back in 2020, it made sense that developers focused on the part of the virus that allows it to grab onto and infect our cells: the spike proteins.
The best vaccines contain a piece of the spike, or genetic data about the spike, either of which can spur an immune response. Not to be outdone, the virus has been mutating—with many of the changes occurring on that same spike.
But other parts of the virus are changing, too. Now, for the first time, a team of scientists has scrutinized these changes—and voiced a warning.
“With each major variant that has been identified, we are seeing mutations outside of [the] spike that we are trying to figure out,” Matthew Frieman, a University of Maryland School of Medicine immunologist and microbiologist and lead author of the new study, told The Daily Beast.
It’s possible the virus is accumulating non-spike mutations in an attempt to gain some advantage over our collective immunity as the COVID pandemic grinds toward its fourth year. These new mutations might not make the virus more infectious the way spike mutations do, but they could be associated with longer infections.
If this trend continues—and there’s no reason to believe it won’t—we might eventually need new antiviral drugs and new vaccine formulations that aren’t so specifically focused on the spike.
Vaccine developers weren’t wrong to focus their initial efforts on the spike protein, Frieman and his co-authors explained in their peer-reviewed study, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and appeared online on Tuesday. “The spike protein is the immunodominant antigen,” they wrote. In other words, it’s the part of the virus most likely to produce a strong immune response.
Moreover, the major variants and subvariants of SARS-CoV-2—Delta then the various forms of Omicron including BA.4 and BA.5—have piled up mutations on the spike. As the spike evolves, the virus gets better and better at grabbing onto our cells despite the presence of antibodies.
That’s one reason why the vaccines have been getting somewhat less effective, and we’re seeing more and more breakthrough cases in vaccinated people. And it should come as no surprise that one of the leading contenders for the next dominant subvariant, a spinoff of Omicron called BA.4.6, features a particularly worrying mutation on the spike called R346T.
But there have been hints that non-spike mutations are becoming a bigger factor, too. Geneticists noted that BA.5, currently the dominant subvariant, doesn’t just have mutations along its spike—it features changes all across its structure.
There had to be a reason for those mutations, Frieman explained. “Viruses don’t do things by accident.” Instead, they try out small changes, over and over, until some combination of changes helps it survive and spread. The resulting variant or subvariant then outcompetes other forms of the pathogen until it becomes dominant—and the likely basis for the next set of mutations.
To understand the reason for, and effects of, the non-spike mutations, Frieman’s team cloned SARS-CoV-2 then started deleting the spike proteins and testing the resulting “deletion viruses” on mice, assessing how contagious the viruses were and how severe the infections were.
Their conclusion? “Mutations outside of [the] spike may be driving critical phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease.” That is to say, changes beyond the spike are beginning to define the virus.
For now, it seems the spike and non-spike mutations are working together. The spike mutations make the virus steadily more contagious. “Mutations in [the] spike have been identified in every major variant that then out-competes the previous variant,” Frieman explained.
Meanwhile, the non-spike mutations appear to prolong infection. This in turn gives the pathogen more time to mutate inside a particular person, and also spread to other people. “We hypothesize that this balance is critical for further evolution of SARS-CoV-2,” Frieman’s team wrote.
As the virus continues trying out mutations in order to stay ahead of our spike-focused immunity, it might further emphasize changes beyond the spike. BA.5, with its wide breadth of mutations, is a sign that’s already happening.
Take this as an urgent call for further study of non-spike mutations. “As more variants emerge, we will identify additional mutations outside of [the] spike that contribute significantly to viral replication, transmission and pathogenesis,” Frieman and his coauthors wrote.
Frieman said his goal is to scrutinize these non-spike mutations in order to “figure out what they do, how they do it [and] why they make the virus better at being a virus.” “Then we can use that information to make drugs,” including new antiviral therapies and vaccine formulations.
Speed matters. The Omicron variant and its rapid-fire subvariants, each coming just a couple months after the last, was a warning that our pharmaceutical research-and-development processes might be too slow. Note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just last week green-lit Omicron-specific vaccine boosters—a full 10 months after the initial Omicron variant first became dominant. “Omicron and its lineages”—another term for subvariants—“taught us a lesson for the need to be more agile in modifying the vaccine,” Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington Institute for Health, told The Daily Beast.
That problem could get worse if the rate of non-spike mutations accelerates. Our vaccine R&D is too slow even when it’s narrowly focused on the spike. What happens when it needs to broaden its scope to combat a virus that’s learning to mutate across its structure?
There’s another wrinkle. These accumulating mutations across the novel-coronavirus—on the spike and not on the spike—could start to mess with the polymerase chain-reaction tests we use to detect and track the virus.
PCR tests and sequencing use primers tailored for a certain range of viral characteristics. Too many mutations “can mess with the PCR test,” Niema Moshiri, a geneticist at the University of California-San Diego, told The Daily Beast.
Pay attention, but don’t panic. It’s really no surprise that SARS-CoV-2 is trying out mutations on different parts of the virus. That’s what viruses do—adapt. The trick for us, the novel-coronavirus’s host, is to adapt at least as quickly.
We did it before by rapidly developing vaccines and therapies targeting the most dangerous part of the virus. We can do it again as the virus finds new ways to evolve. It just takes political will… and money.
NASA astronauts’ blood shows signs of DNA mutations due to spaceflight and they must be monitored
Astronauts’ blood can show signs of DNA mutations after spaceflight and therefore their cancer risk should be monitored, a new study reveals.
Fourteen astronauts from NASA’s space shuttle program who flew between 1998 and 2001 on shuttle missions averaging 12 days took part in the study: 85 percent were male and six were on their first mission for the space agency.
Researchers collected whole blood samples from the astronauts twice – ten days before spaceflight and on the day of landing – as well as white blood cells that were collected just once, three days after landing. Those sample were put into a freezer at minus 112 degree Fahrenheit and not touched for 20 years.
‘Astronauts work in an extreme environment where many factors can result in somatic mutations, most importantly space radiation, which means there is a risk that these mutations could develop into clonal hematopoiesis,’ said the study’s lead author David Goukassian, professor of cardiology with the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Icahn Mount Sinai in New York, in a statement.
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Researchers collected whole blood samples from the astronauts twice – ten days before spaceflight and on the day of landing – as well as white blood cells that were collected just once, three days after landing. Above: Official portrait of Expedition 45/46 long duration astronaut Scott Kelly
‘Given the growing interest in both commercial spaceflights and deep space exploration, and the potential health risks of exposure to various harmful factors that are associated with repeated or long-duration exploration space missions, such as a trip to Mars, we decided to explore, retrospectively, somatic mutation,’ Goukassian explained
‘Given the growing interest in both commercial spaceflights and deep space exploration, and the potential health risks of exposure to various harmful factors that are associated with repeated or long-duration exploration space missions, such as a trip to Mars, we decided to explore, retrospectively, somatic mutation,’ Goukassian explained.
Somatic mutations are ones that take place after a person is conceived and in cells other than sperm or egg cells, meaning they cannot be passed on to future generations.
The mutations identified in the study were characterized by the overrepresentation of blood cells derived from a single clone, a process called clonal hematopoiesis. Different blood cancers, including chronic myeloid leukemia, are examples are clonal hematopoiesis.
Scientists used DNA sequencing as well as bioinformatics analysis to identify 34 mutations in 17 CH-driver genes.
The mutations identified in the study were characterized by the overrepresentation of blood cells derived from a single clone, a process called clonal hematopoiesis. Different blood cancers, including chronic myeloid leukemia, are examples are clonal hematopoiesis
‘The presence of these mutations does not necessarily mean that the astronauts will develop cardiovascular disease or cancer, but there is the risk that, over time, this could happen through ongoing and prolonged exposure to the extreme environment of deep space,’ Goukassian added
The most common mutations occurred in TP3, a gene that produces a tumor-suppressing protein, and DNMT3A, one of the most frequently mutated genes in acute myeloid leukemia.
Although the mutations were high for the astronauts’ age, the researchers said it was still below a concerning threshold.
‘The presence of these mutations does not necessarily mean that the astronauts will develop cardiovascular disease or cancer, but there is the risk that, over time, this could happen through ongoing and prolonged exposure to the extreme environment of deep space,’ Goukassian added.
As NASA ramps up its long-delayed Artemis program to put American boots on the lunar surface for the first time in 50 years, these types of health observations for astronauts will be a key to the future success of spaceflight to the moon, Mars and beyond.
As NASA ramps up its long-delayed Artemis program to put American boots on the lunar surface for the first time in 50 years, these types of health observations for astronauts will be a key to the future success of spaceflight
Researchers demonstrated that they can conduct this type of study to examine astronauts’ susceptibility to disease without impacting their ability to work. The study was published Aug. 31 in Nature Communications Biology.
They recommend that NASA, and its medical team, screen astronauts for somatic mutations and possible clonal expansion, or regression, every three to five years, and also well into their retirement years – when these types of mutations can potentially expand.
‘What is important now is to conduct longitudinal retrospective and well-controlled prospective studies involving a large number of astronauts to see how that risk evolves based on continued exposure and then compare that data against their clinical symptoms, imaging, and lab results,’ said Goukassian.
‘That will enable us to make informed predictions as to which individuals are more likely to develop disease based on the phenomena we are seeing and open the door to individualized precision medicine approaches to early intervention and prevention.’
This work comes two months after a study showed that astronauts who partake in spaceflights lasting longer than three months can show signs of incomplete bone recovery even after a full year on Earth.
‘The detrimental effect of spaceflight on skeletal tissue can be profound,’ stated the opening line of the study.
‘We found that weight-bearing bones only partially recovered in most astronauts one year after spaceflight,’ Leigh Gabel, assistant professor in Kinesiology, and lead author of the study, said in a statement.
‘This suggests the permanent bone loss due to spaceflight is about the same as a decade worth of age-related bone loss on Earth.’
That study began in 2017 and it followed 17 astronauts before and after spaceflight over seven years to determine how bone does or does not recover after longer spaceflights.
Researchers went to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and scanned the wrists and ankles of the astronauts before they left for space.
One year after returning from long-duration spaceflight, most astronauts demonstrated incomplete recovery of bone density, strength, and trabecular thickness at the weight-bearing distal tibia.
Astronauts’ blood shows signs of DNA mutations due to spaceflight
Astronaut cancer risk needs careful monitoring, concludes a study that stored spaceflyer blood for 20 years.
All fourteen astronauts in the study, from NASA’s space shuttle program, had DNA mutations in blood-forming stem cells, a Nature Communications Biology study (opens in new tab) Aug. 31 concluded. The mutations, though unusually high considering the astronauts’ age, was below a key threshold of concern, however.
While the study is unique for keeping astronaut blood around for so long, the results are not show-stopping. Rather, the researchers suggest that astronauts should be subject to periodic blood screening to keep an eye on possible mutations. (And it should be considered in context; another 2019 study, for example, found that astronauts are not dying from cancer due to ionizing space radiation.)
Related: The last voyage of NASA’s space shuttle: Looking back at Atlantis’ final mission 10 years later
Monitoring programs will nevertheless be crucial as NASA reaches for long-duration deep space missions through its Artemis program on the moon and later, human excursions to Mars, the new study team said in a statement (opens in new tab). (The new study and the 2019 cancer study both largely considered short-duration mission astronauts.)
The team decided to pursue the new study in light of “the growing interest in both commercial spaceflights and deep space exploration, and the potential health risks of exposure to various harmful factors that are associated with repeated or long-duration exploration space missions,” study lead author Dr. David Goukassian and cardiology professor at Icahn Mount Sinai said in the statement.
NASA recently changed its lifetime radiation requirements for astronauts that critics said were discriminating against women, who historically had lower limits than male astronauts. (To date, other genders have not been disclosed in the agency population.)
(opens in new tab)
The researchers found a higher frequency of somatic mutations in the genes of the 14 astronauts considered in the study, relative to statistics for the population who has been to space.
The space cohort flew between 1998 and 2001 on shuttle missions of an average of 12 days. Roughly 85 percent of the group was male, and six of the astronauts were on their first mission.
Researchers collected whole blood samples from the astronauts twice, exactly 10 days before spaceflight and on the day of landing. White blood cells were collected once, three days after landing. The blood samples were then left untouched in a freezer for 20 years, chilling at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 80 degrees Celsius.)
The somatic mutations seen in the genes was less than two percent, however. Those individuals who breach that threshold face more risk in developing cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, the statement said.
“The presence of these mutations does not necessarily mean that the astronauts will develop cardiovascular disease or cancer, but there is the risk that, over time, this could happen through ongoing and prolonged exposure to the extreme environment of deep space,” Goukassian added.
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