Protective alleles and precision healthcare in crewed spaceflight
Lindsay Rutter, Matthew MacKay, Henry Cope, Nathaniel J. Szewczyk, JangKeun Kim, Eliah Overbey, Braden Tierney, Masafumi Muratani, Ben Lamm, Daniela Bezdan, Amber M. Paul, Michael A. Schmidt, George M. Church, Stefania Giacomello, Christopher E. Mason
Abstract
Common and rare alleles are now being annotated across millions of human genomes, and omics technologies are increasingly being used to develop health and treatment recommendations. However, these alleles have not yet been systematically characterized relative to aerospace medicine. Here, we review published alleles naturally found in human cohorts that have a likely protective effect, which is linked to decreased cancer risk and improved bone, muscular, and cardiovascular health. Although some technical and ethical challenges remain, research into these protective mechanisms could translate into improved nutrition, exercise, and health recommendations for crew members during deep space missions.