Big Ideas

While humanity’s past is firmly grounded on our home planet, the humans of the future may live on the moon, Mars, or interstellar ships bound for distant worlds. To prepare for this cosmic migration, today’s scientists are exploring how living in space affects the human body—right down to DNA—and whether we might tweak our own genome to enhance our ability to live beyond Earth. Come explore the biological future of humanity, as a new era of evolution beckons. This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.Learn More

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TOPICS: Art & Science, Biology & Origins of Life, Earth & Environment, Mind & Brain, Physics & Math, Science in Society, Science Unplugged, Space & The Cosmos, Technology & Engineering, Your Daily Equation, Youth & Education

TAGS: alien environment, astronaut, Caleb Scharf, Chris Mason, cosmic migration, cosmic rays, DNA repair, ecosystem, epigenetic expression, Epigenetics, EVOLUTION BEYOND EARTH, future humans, gene expression, Human evolution, interstellar, ISS, live beyond Earth, living in space, low gravity, Mars, Mars colony, microbiome, moon, nasa, radiation exposure, Space exploration, Space station, space travel, speciation, Stuart Firestein, telomeres, Ting Wu, alien environment, astronaut, Caleb Scharf, Chris Mason, cosmic migration, cosmic rays, DNA repair, ecosystem, epigenetic expression, Epigenetics, EVOLUTION BEYOND EARTH, future humans, gene expression, Human evolution, interstellar, ISS, live beyond Earth, living in space, low gravity, Mars, Mars colony, microbiome, moon, nasa, radiation exposure, Space exploration, Space station, space travel, speciation, Stuart Firestein, telomeres, Ting Wu

PLAYLISTS: Big Ideas, Salons

Video Duration: 00:59:31

Original Program Date: Thursday, June 1, 2017

Moderator: Stuart Firestein

Participants: Chris Mason, Caleb Scharf, Ting Wu

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