Why Your Body Needs Gravity
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to The Rest is Science. I'm Hannah Fry. And her hair is ginger. Yes, it is. I haven't mentioned it. It doesn't really come up. I hadn't noticed, honestly. I'm very colorblind, you know, in that way. What if you were colorblind and you just...
I mean, colorblind, like,
I just don't even know. You're just a human to me. Just another human. Anyway, my name is Michael Stevens and this is The Rest is Science.
Okay, Michael, for today's episode, I want to tell you a story about two men. They had the same face. They were twins. That's not that much of a mystery. One of them gets onto a rocket ship in Kazakhstan. The other one drives home to Arizona. Now, I know what you're thinking. Einstein talks about this. He said, take two twins, put one in a rocket ship, send them away from the earth. They'll come back. They'll be different ages. I want to talk to you Michael today about what actually happened when people actually tried it for
real.
This episode is brought to you by Cancer Research UK.
What is the story of the Kelly twins and why are they central to the episode?
As if they weren't cool enough already, some astronauts have now added cancer scientists to their CV. They are making use of microgravity conditions in space to carry out experiments. That's because the same thing
that lets astronauts experience weightlessness also affects how cancer cells grow, behave, and respond to drugs.
And back down on Earth, Cancer Research UK is working with astronomers to explore tumors with technologies that are typically used to map the Milky Way, which I think gives you an idea of just how complex this disease is.
That's right. There are over 200 different types of cancer. But by pushing boundaries and embracing the latest technologies, Cancer Research UK has helped double cancer survival in the UK over the past 50 years.
And today it is continuing to save and improve lives around the world. For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research and breakthroughs, and how you can support them, visit cancerresearchuk.org. This
is a real story.
You're
talking about the bald twins. Huh? Are they bald? Do you know what Ash, do you know what they look like? I'm pretty sure they are. I know every bald man. They are bald. Aren't they lovely men? I can't remember their names. Kelly? Yeah, Scott Mark Kelly, yeah. One of them is like a senator.
Oh my God, that's Mark Kelly.
Yeah. Yeah.
I cannot believe I've been researching this for like two days and I didn't put two and two together. Wait, were they both
astronauts or just one of them? They were both astronauts. Mark was a retired astronaut. Mark has done a wonderful job of literally finding a way to be known for something besides the fact that you're an astronaut. Right. He comes up in the news all the time. And I'm like, he's an astronaut. I can't even mention that at this point. Can you imagine having a life like that where you're like, oh, yeah, I've been to space. But that's not even what they say about me most of the time.
Not even the most interesting thing about me. I know. Wild. I cannot believe I didn't put two and two together because I follow American politics all the time. Like all the time, know all about Mark Kelly, genuinely was so interested in what happened in this experiment. It never even occurred to me to think that that name might ring a bell. Have you met any astronauts, by the way?
Yeah, I have. Which one have you met? Don Pettit. Right. And I met him like twice. So technically two.
Because he's made of different atoms. I completely agree. You know, no man standing in a river is the same man. Different river, different man. Right. Yeah. That's right. Different astronaut. Different you as well. It was
a different me. Have I even met anyone? This collection of atoms has not. Here's the thing.
I think I think. astronauts um they're as close to a superhuman species as we have you know i think if you filtered off just the astronauts it did an astronaut breeding program you know i think quite quickly they would diverge from the rest of us they are so special so smart they're like the smartest people incredibly fit unbelievably brave and also just
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–1:10
2
What is the story of the Kelly twins and why are they central to the episode?
1:10–18:31
3
How does Einstein’s twin paradox illustrate time dilation for fast‑moving travelers?
18:31–37:19
4
How fast does the International Space Station travel compared to the speed of light?
37:19–42:11