How do they do it? For centuries, a community of women on Jeju Island in South Korea has been diving without oxygen, breathing for several minutes while collecting seafood underwater.
this Hayeo Divers have been described as “mermaid” BBC. Their amazing abilities were previously thought to be the product of lifelong training. But a new study found that their talents have a genetic component.
Cold water
this Hayeo Freely spread around 6 a.m. every day, and repeatedly “falls” into the “cold water” near Jeju Island National Geography. Diving over 30 feet below the surface, they collect shellfish and seaweed from the seabed and then “raise quickly.” “Just imagine fitness levels,” the BBC said.
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Now, a study published in the Journal Cell Reports It has been found that over the centuries, freediving may have changed the genetics of these women and their children, creating physiological adaptations that may have a significant impact on medical understanding.
When people dive, their blood vessels respond in a “complex way” to try to ensure the safety of their vital organs as their oxygen is “lower.” Washington Post. Enhanced response to protective blood pressure immersion in water has become “part of the genetic blueprint for all Jeju Islanders regardless of whether they dive or not.”
But the second adaptation is only Hayeo Through their training, they will cause their heart rate to decrease when diving. Ilardo says when you dive, “every heartbeat” will bring more oxygen, which is usually “usually a good thing”, but when you don’t have oxygen “come in” you want to “slow it down.”
Matrilineal tradition
The Washington Post said these findings could be “grasping the key”. Understand the allowed genetic adaptations Hayeo To withstand the physiological stress of free diving, it may lead to the development of medications, which can help people with stroke or blood pressure problems.
Islanders on Jeju Island are among the lowest mortality rates for stroke in South Korea: more than 24 deaths per 100,000 people; and about 37 deaths per 100,000 people compared with the United States. Scientists hope to demonstrate the genetic makeup of the islanders, especially their freediving communities, is a contributing factor.
But it is questionable how long the “matriarchal tradition” of freediving will last. It is “less popular” among the younger generation, and now most divers are in the 60s, 70s and 80s, meaning that the “window” to study these genetic characteristics may be “closing”.
