A study held in August sampled the blood of 14 astronauts from NASA’s space shuttle program. Researchers ended up finding mutations in their blood-forming stem cells, exactly 34 nonsynonymous mutations in their 17 CH-driver genes. Right now, scientists are concerned about possible long-term effects, and researchers have concluded periodic blood screenings are necessary. There’s doubt concerning where these effects came from, the samples were from 1998-2001 so the alterations could’ve been caused by something that is no longer concerning. Although there’s a lot of uncertainty, researchers are continuing to study these samples to ensure the safety of astronauts.
