How Does Space Travel Change Our Genes?

What NASA's Study on Twin Astronauts Reveals About the Human Genome on Earth, Mars & Beyond

The event featured Space Genomics Expert Dr. Christopher Mason, Weill Cornell Medicine, and was moderated by CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Max Gomez

The lecture discussed Dr. Christopher Mason’s exciting research projects with NASA to better understand the impact of space travel on the human genome, including:

• Dr. Mason’s contributions to NASA’s Journey to Mars – the initiative to get "boots on the ground" on Mars by 2035.

• Astronaut Twins Study – what DNA changes scientists found when sequencing the genes of astronaut Scott Kelly in space, and the DNA of his identical twin brother, astronaut Mark Kelly, who remained on Earth.

• The Mason Lab’s 500-year plan for the survival of the human species on Earth, in space, and on other planets.

Welcome & Opening Remarks
Nicolas Robine, PhD
Assistant Director, Computational Biology
New York Genome Center

Featured Speaker
Christopher Mason, PhD
Associate Professor of Physiology and Biophysics
Associate Professor of Computational Genomics in Computational Biomedicine, HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine
Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Feil Family Brain and Mind Institute
Weill Cornell Medicine

Moderator
Max Gomez, PhD
Medical Correspondent
CBS News