Genetic adaptations to diving discovered in humans for the first time

Evidence that humans can genetically adapt to diving has been identified for the first time in a new study. The evidence suggests that the Bajau, a people group indigenous to parts of Indonesia, have genetically enlarged spleens which enable them to free dive to depths of up to 70m.

It has previously been hypothesised that the spleen plays an important role in enabling humans to free dive for prolonged periods but the relationship between spleen size and dive capacity has never before been examined in humans at the genetic level.

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Credit: Melissa Ilardo

In this photo, a Bajau diver hunts fish underwater using a traditional spear. For over 1,000 years the Bajau have collected food by free diving with spears. Members of the Bajau can dive up to 70 meters with nothing more than a set of weights and a pair of wooden goggles.

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Japan’s female free-divers are to be found in coastal villages around Japan’s coasts. This film follows Guinness record holding free-diver Ai Futaki as she visits an Ama community in Fukui province on the Japan Sea coast 400km west of Tokyo.

It is thought the culture of Japan’s female free-divers, or Ama, goes back 5,000 years. The key to their culture is their identity as women free-divers who understand the need to live in harmony with nature if future generations are to continue their way of life. This means they refuse to use scuba tanks because that would make it too easy to over harvest the abalone and turban shells on which they depend for a living. But with environmental changes threatening their livelihoods and most Ama now more than 65 years old, their future, as Ai discovers, is far from secure.
 

Amazing :)

Dragon wrote: For over 1,000 years the Bajau have collected food by free diving with spears. Members of the Bajau can dive up to 70 meters with nothing more than a set of weights and a pair of wooden goggles.

I always knew it helps in fighting infections but had no idea it also served to help with that , neat
Thanks for sharing