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Space Daily

Scott Kelly spent 340 days aboard the ISS, and his telomeres—the protective caps on chromosomes that generally shorten with age—unexpectedly grew longer in orbit. Most shortened again within two days of landing, ultimately leaving him with many more critically short telomeres than before the mission, alongside separate signs of lasting chromosome damage.

Objectivity score: 59
The Scott Kelly telomere result is one of those spaceflight findings that sounds almost too neat at first. An astronaut spends nearly a year in orbit. A biological marker often associated with ageing moves in the opposite direction. The story seems ready-made for a headline about space making someone younger. That is not what the study showed. Kelly spent 340 days aboard the International Space St...
Scott Kelly spent 340 days aboard the ISS, and his telomeres—the protective caps on chromosomes that generally shorten with age—unexpectedly grew longer in orbit. Most shortened again within two days of landing, ultimately leaving him with many more critically short telomeres than before the mission, alongside separate signs of lasting chromosome damage. | Huntaegis