Re: Psychology and biology of the long distance Astronaut

It's not exactly Time For The Stars, but sounds like a worthwhile project.

Barry

I am a Statistician. One false move and you're a Statistic.
On 23/03/2015 9:03 PM, "Jeff" <[email protected]> wrote:

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> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20150322_Astronaut_Kelly_twins_to_test_effects_of_space_on_cognition__one_on_earth__one_in_orbit.html
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> NASA astronaut Scott Kelly inside a Soyuz simulator at the Gagarin
> Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, on March 5. BILL INGALLS
> / NASA via Getty Images
> Read more at
> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20150322_Astronaut_Kelly_twins_to_test_effects_of_space_on_cognition__one_on_earth__one_in_orbit.html#fEQFRCrk1LAJJldf.99
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>  Astronaut Kelly twins to test effects of space on cognition, one on
> earth, one in orbit
>
>  Tom Avril, *Inquirer Staff Writer*
> Posted: Sunday, March 22, 2015, 3:50 AM
> Read more at
> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20150322_Astronaut_Kelly_twins_to_test_effects_of_space_on_cognition__one_on_earth__one_in_orbit.html#fEQFRCrk1LAJJldf.99
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> The astronaut Scott Kelly is about to take off for the International Space
> Station, and if he is like some space travelers, he may temporarily feel a
> bit foggy or disoriented once in orbit.
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> Scientists have not had much luck measuring this subtle effect with
> standard cognitive tests, but now, a group of University of Pennsylvania
> researchers is trying a new tack.
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> While Kelly is in space, they will compare his mental performance with
> that of a uniquely qualified individual who stays behind on Earth. An
> individual whose brain is about as similar to Kelly's as you can imagine:
> his identical twin, Mark.
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> The Penn study of the twins, who grew up in West Orange, N.J., is one of
> 10 that NASA has approved for the one-year mission, which could launch as
> early as Friday.
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> Scientists from other institutions are tackling such topics as
> space-induced changes in Kelly's immune system, intestinal bacteria, and
> genetic expression. All of it will be compared with test results from his
> brother, a retired astronaut.
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> The goal is to get a better idea of what happens to the human body on a
> prolonged mission, in preparation for an eventual journey to Mars.
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> NASA has lots of data on astronauts who have spent six months in space,
> said Mathias Basner, assistant professor at Penn's Perelman School of
> Medicine. The impact of a one-year trip is a relative unknown, although a
> few Russians have done it. And a Mars trip would be far longer, 21/2 to
> three years.
>
> Astronauts may suffer from sleep deprivation, stress, and elevated levels
> of carbon dioxide in the air they breathe, among other factors. Then there
> is the impact of weightlessness, which saps bone strength and causes bodily
> fluids to accumulate in unfamiliar places.
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> "It's all about getting the astronaut there and back, healthy," said
> Basner, who is leading the Penn research with colleagues Ruben Gur and
> David Dinges.
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> Not just for the astronauts' own sake, but also for the protection of the
> robotic arms and other high-tech equipment that they operate.
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> "This is a super-hostile environment," Basner said. "A tiny little mistake
> can lead to huge errors."
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> Studies of twins have long been a hallmark of science, allowing
> researchers to tease apart the impacts of genes and environment. Since the
> DNA of identical twins is very nearly the same, differences in their health
> may be attributed to different exposures - in this case, being in space vs.
> on the ground.
>
> No one is pretending that the 10 teams of scientists will uncover
> profound, statistically valid truths about space travel by monitoring one
> set of twins. But the results from these pilot studies can be compared with
> those from astronauts on future long missions.
>
> And the various findings from this mission may complement each other,
> Basner said. Scientists could determine if, say, changes in Scott Kelly's
> internal bacteria correlate with any altered performance when he takes the
> cognitive tests.
>
> One reason that scientists have had trouble measuring mental fogginess in
> space may be that they used tests that are designed more to gauge the
> effect of significant brain injury, Basner said.
>
> And most cognitive tests were developed for typical people, whereas
> astronauts tend to be on the higher end of the spectrum in both
> intelligence and physical fitness. So Gur and his Penn colleagues have
> developed harder questions in a variety of areas, such as working memory,
> spatial orientation, and emotion recognition.
>
> In one series, test-takers must pick one from a group of abstract shapes
> in order to complete a pattern. In another section, which measures the
> ability to balance risk and reward, they must decide how much to inflate
> virtual balloons on a computer screen. A bigger balloon earns a higher
> score, but if it pops, the test-taker gets a zero.
>
> If the test battery is validated in future studies, it might be used to
> determine if an astronaut is alert enough to engage in a particularly
> challenging task, such as a space walk. Subpar performance could indicate
> the need for more rest.
>
> The Penn team says similar tests could be used for people in other
> high-stakes occupations, such as civilian or military pilots. The
> conditions in an airplane cockpit are markedly different from those on the
> space station, but both are dangerous places to experience fatigue.
>
> The 51-year-old Kelly twins have taken the cognitive tests several times
> here on Earth, and are scheduled to do so 11 times during the mission,
> which will launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
> Kazakhstan. They will take the tests three more times once Scott Kelly is
> back on land.
>
> As identical twins, the brothers are ideal test subjects from a genetic
> standpoint. Yet their exposures and experiences make them different in any
> number of subtle ways, even though they grew up in the same household and
> even pursued the same career as astronauts.
>
> What about their brains? Probably quite similar, though in a 2010
> conversation with a NASA interviewer, the twins agreed that Mark Kelly, who
> is six minutes older, had better grades in high school.
>
> Apparently he tried harder.
>
> "I was more interested in, kind of, what was going on outside of the
> classroom vs. inside," Scott Kelly said.
>
> "I don't think I remember him ever once doing homework," said Mark Kelly,
> the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.), who was
> shot four years ago. Although retired from astronaut duty, he agreed to
> participate in the twin study.
>
> Both brothers have been to the space station on previous missions.
>
> It is a grueling environment. But it's not Mars. A key difference: the
> radiation. The space station orbits less than 250 miles from Earth, and is
> mostly shielded from the harmful soup of cosmic particles in outer space.
>
> To study the possible impact of radiation on Mars, researchers at Johns
> Hopkins University School of Medicine exposed rats to similar levels of
> radiation here on Earth.
>
> Some of the rats experienced lapses in attention or delays in reaction
> times as a result, whereas others stayed the same, said Hopkins behavioral
> biologists Robert D. Hienz and Catherine M. Davis. In the affected rats,
> the radiation appeared to impair the brain's ability to transport the
> neurotransmitter dopamine.
>
> Add that to the effects of sleep loss and weightlessness, and it would not
> be surprising to see an astronaut lose a step or two on a mission to Mars.
>
> That trip is likely decades away, too far in the future for the astronaut
> twins from New Jersey to take part. But they will contribute to the Mars
> mission nonetheless, in the form of test results from their immune systems,
> their bacteria, and their brains.
>
> Read more at
> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20150322_Astronaut_Kelly_twins_to_test_effects_of_space_on_cognition__one_on_earth__one_in_orbit.html#fEQFRCrk1LAJJldf.99
>
>
> [email protected]
>
> 215-854-2430 @TomAvril1
>