Latest news with #Ilardo
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
South Korean Haenyeo Divers' Extreme Lifestyle Is Shaping Their Genetics
Often likened to mermaids in media reports and popular culture, South Korea's famed Haenyeo ('sea women') spend much of the day underwater, diving without scuba gear to collect abalone, octopus, kelp and other prized seafood. Admired both culturally and scientifically, they have been plunging into the frigid waters of Jeju Island since as early as 503 C.E. Now, for the first time, a study has found both genetic adaptations and training effects that are unique to these women and could explain how the Haenyeo withstand the intense physical stresses that come with continuous diving. The findings, published in Cell Reports, zero in on specific genetic features of the Haenyeo that allow the bodies of these divers to more efficiently control blood pressure, for example. The researchers hope closer investigations into such genetic traits could inform future approaches to certain disorders or illnesses in the general population. 'The Haenyeo are really like superhumans,' says Melissa A. Ilardo, senior author of the study and an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Utah. 'You cannot watch the Haenyeo dive and not think these women have superpowers.' [Sign up for Today in Science, a free daily newsletter] It's easy to see the Haenyeo as enigmatic. For centuries, they have conspicuously maintained their own culture and style. They sport unique broad-rimmed sun visors and tattooed eyebrows, and their skin is tanned and weathered by a lifetime of wind and saltwater. After Haenyeo divers age past their diving years, they still stick close to the sea and work along the shoreline, often tying a cushion to their backside to rest on as they lay kelp out to dry. They have kept their tradition afloat through Japan's decades-long occupation of the Korean Peninsula, massacres under dictatorships and relentless industrial development. And the new study suggests that there might even be a ring of scientific truth to 'superpower' analogy. 'Given that [the Haenyeo] have this unique culture, unique language—all these things that are so different—it seems obvious that there would be some genetic differences,' Ilardo says. 'But that wasn't something that had ever been investigated.' Ilardo, who studies genetics of medically resilient humans around the world at her aptly named Superhuman Lab, had previously examined the physiology of a diving people called the Bajau in Southeast Asia. Her team found the Bajau had an extra large spleens that could store additional oxygenated blood for lengthy dives. 'If one group of divers had evolved to dive, then maybe others have as well,' Ilardo says. The Haenyeo—with their long diving history—stood out to the crew at the Superhuman Lab as another population that could have developed diving advantages. 'What's interesting about studying populations who have lived in a particular environment for many, many generations is that if there's been a selective pressure in that environment, you can look at their genomes and start to pull out regions that appear to be essential for their survival,' explains Tatum Simonson, a geneticist at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new study. Those essential genetic irregularities are 'probably linked to some aspect of physiology that has been beneficial over time in that environment.' For the new study on the Haenyeo, the Superhuman Lab collaborated with physiologists from South Korea to simulate the effects of submersion on the divers themselves, compared with non-Haenyeo Jeju residents and mainland South Koreans. Participants laid on their stomach with their head over a bowl of cold water, periodically plunging their face under while the researchers measured how their reflexive submersion responses changed their heart rate and blood pressure. The participants were all from the same country, yet they showed striking differences in these changes. Ilardo thinks that could be a direct result of natural selection. For example, 'sleep apnea—which is kind of like unintentional diving in your sleep [in that it reduces oxygen availability]—increases the risk of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy,' she explains, adding that these can include preeclampsia (a pregnancy complication that can dangerously raise blood pressure). The Haenyeo are known to continue diving while pregnant, she notes. 'If diving is increasing [a Haenyeo diver's] risk of preeclampsia, that could take out an entire generation,' Ilardo says. But the Haenyeo aren't known to have a particularly high risk of hypertensive pregnancy disorders, and they have obviously birthed many generations of babies. Ilardo's research suggests it's likely that a gene allowing for better regulation of blood pressure has been passed down through the years. Interestingly, the team found that all Jeju residents—even those without a Haenyeo family member—had a similar genetic variation that suppressed a reflexive blood pressure increase when diving. This suggests that the variation may have naturally spread throughout the island. It would also support Jeju's surprisingly low stroke death rate, which is around 24.3 per 100,000 for not just the Haenyeo but all of the island's residents—lower than the mainland city of Seoul's rate of 25.7 per 100,000 and the U.S.'s rate of 37 per 100,000. But Ilardo notes that some physiological differences, such as heartbeat changes, were unique to the Haenyeo. During the face-dunking experiment, Haenyeo participants' heart rates slowed by 50 percent more, on average, compared with nondiver Jeju residents. This helps their bodies manage oxygen circulation through their bodies during a long dive, letting them 'spend that resource as frugally as possible,' Ilardo says. She adds that this acquired trait could also develop in nondiver individuals who are not from Jeju Island. While the study did not test participants' cold tolerance, that is something the Superhuman Lab is planning to investigate in future work with the Haenyeo. Researchers can learn vital lessons about human evolution from such unique adaptations, says Ben Trumble, an Arizona State University biologist who specializes in human biology and was not involved in the new study. Cataloging the lifestyle and genes of special populations such as the Haenyeo could inform research into areas such as precision medicine, which requires a specialized understanding of how certain genetic variations translate into physiological traits, Trumble explains. 'We're absolutely allowed to plagiarize from natural selection' in approaching health care, he says. 'How natural selection solves a particular problem with a particular gene can give us clues for developing new drugs to treat some of the problems that people have in our society today.' Studies such as Ilardo's take the 'first step' toward medical applications, Trumble says, although he and Simonson believe any actual drugs that could emerge from such research will probably take longer to develop. In any case, Ilardo says, being able to pinpoint the genetic cause behind certain populations' remarkable abilities could offer remarkable solutions in medical genetics. 'I was just blown away by how amazing [the Haenyeo] are, how strong they are and how they balance that with this kindness and sensitivity and femininity,' Ilardo says. 'I think by focusing on what makes the population special and unique..., it brings a health focus instead of a disease focus [to medical genetics research]. And it's certainly a much more fun way to do the science.'
Scientific American
02-06-2025
- Science
- Scientific American
These ‘Real-Life Mermaid' Divers Have Remarkable Underwater Abilities—and Genetics
Often likened to mermaids in media reports and popular culture, South Korea's famed Haenyeo ('sea women') spend much of the day underwater, diving without scuba gear to collect abalone, octopus, kelp and other prized seafood. Admired both culturally and scientifically, they have been plunging into the frigid waters of Jeju Island since as early as 503 C.E. Now, for the first time, a study has found both genetic adaptations and training effects that are unique to these women and could explain how the Haenyeo withstand the intense physical stresses that come with continuous diving. The findings, published in Cell Reports, zero in on specific genetic features of the Haenyeo that allow the bodies of these divers to more efficiently control blood pressure, for example. The researchers hope closer investigations into such genetic traits could inform future approaches to certain disorders or illnesses in the general population. 'The Haenyeo are really like superhumans,' says Melissa A. Ilardo, senior author of the study and an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Utah. 'You cannot watch the Haenyeo dive and not think these women have superpowers.' On supporting science journalism subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. It's easy to see the Haenyeo as enigmatic. For centuries, they have conspicuously maintained their own culture and style. They sport unique broad-rimmed sun visors and tattooed eyebrows, and their skin is tanned and weathered by a lifetime of wind and saltwater. After Haenyeo divers age past their diving years, they still stick close to the sea and work along the shoreline, often tying a cushion to their backside to rest on as they lay kelp out to dry. They have kept their tradition afloat through Japan's decades-long occupation of the Korean Peninsula, massacres under dictatorships and relentless industrial development. And the new study suggests that there might even be a ring of scientific truth to 'superpower' analogy. 'Given that [the Haenyeo ] have this unique culture, unique language—all these things that are so different—it seems obvious that there would be some genetic differences,' Ilardo says. 'But that wasn't something that had ever been investigated.' Ilardo, who studies genetics of medically resilient humans around the world at her aptly named Superhuman Lab, had previously examined the physiology of a diving people called the Bajau in Southeast Asia. Her team found the Bajau had an extra large spleens that could store additional oxygenated blood for lengthy dives. 'If one group of divers had evolved to dive, then maybe others have as well,' Ilardo says. The Haenyeo —with their long diving history—stood out to the crew at the Superhuman Lab as another population that could have developed diving advantages. 'What's interesting about studying populations who have lived in a particular environment for many, many generations is that if there's been a selective pressure in that environment, you can look at their genomes and start to pull out regions that appear to be essential for their survival,' explains Tatum Simonson, a geneticist at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new study. Those essential genetic irregularities are 'probably linked to some aspect of physiology that has been beneficial over time in that environment.' For the new study on the Haenyeo, the Superhuman Lab collaborated with physiologists from South Korea to simulate the effects of submersion on the divers themselves, compared with non- Haenyeo Jeju residents and mainland South Koreans. Participants laid on their stomach with their head over a bowl of cold water, periodically plunging their face under while the researchers measured how their reflexive submersion responses changed their heart rate and blood pressure. The participants were all from the same country, yet they showed striking differences in these changes. Ilardo thinks that could be a direct result of natural selection. For example, 'sleep apnea—which is kind of like unintentional diving in your sleep [in that it reduces oxygen availability]—increases the risk of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy,' she explains, adding that these can include preeclampsia (a pregnancy complication that can dangerously raise blood pressure). The Haenyeo are known to continue diving while pregnant, she notes. 'If diving is increasing [a Haenyeo diver's] risk of preeclampsia, that could take out an entire generation,' Ilardo says. But the Haenyeo aren't known to have a particularly high risk of hypertensive pregnancy disorders, and they have obviously birthed many generations of babies. Ilardo's research suggests it's likely that a gene allowing for better regulation of blood pressure has been passed down through the years. Interestingly, the team found that all Jeju residents—even those without a Haenyeo family member—had a similar genetic variation that suppressed a reflexive blood pressure increase when diving. This suggests that the variation may have naturally spread throughout the island. It would also support Jeju's surprisingly low stroke death rate, which is around 24.3 per 100,000 for not just the Haenyeo but all of the island's residents—lower than the mainland city of Seoul's rate of 25.7 per 100,000 and the U.S.'s rate of 37 per 100,000. But Ilardo notes that some physiological differences, such as heartbeat changes, were unique to the Haenyeo. During the face-dunking experiment, Haenyeo participants' heart rates slowed by 50 percent more, on average, compared with nondiver Jeju residents. This helps their bodies manage oxygen circulation through their bodies during a long dive, letting them 'spend that resource as frugally as possible,' Ilardo says. She adds that this acquired trait could also develop in nondiver individuals who are not from Jeju Island. While the study did not test participants' cold tolerance, that is something the Superhuman Lab is planning to investigate in future work with the Haenyeo. Researchers can learn vital lessons about human evolution from such unique adaptations, says Ben Trumble, an Arizona State University biologist who specializes in human biology and was not involved in the new study. Cataloging the lifestyle and genes of special populations such as the Haenyeo could inform research into areas such as precision medicine, which requires a specialized understanding of how certain genetic variations translate into physiological traits, Trumble explains. 'We're absolutely allowed to plagiarize from natural selection' in approaching health care, he says. 'How natural selection solves a particular problem with a particular gene can give us clues for developing new drugs to treat some of the problems that people have in our society today.' Studies such as Ilardo's take the 'first step' toward medical applications, Trumble says, although he and Simonson believe any actual drugs that could emerge from such research will probably take longer to develop. In any case, Ilardo says, being able to pinpoint the genetic cause behind certain populations' remarkable abilities could offer remarkable solutions in medical genetics. 'I was just blown away by how amazing [the Haenyeo ] are, how strong they are and how they balance that with this kindness and sensitivity and femininity,' Ilardo says. 'I think by focusing on what makes the population special and unique..., it brings a health focus instead of a disease focus [to medical genetics research]. And it's certainly a much more fun way to do the science.'
India.com
20-05-2025
- Science
- India.com
These women are called lioness of sea, can remain inside water without oxygen for hours , scientists are...., they are from....
South Korean girls- Representative AI image Special women of South Korea: You must have heard stories about sea mermaids which, according to folklore are aquatic creatures with the head and upper body of a female human and they they can easily swim and live in water as long as they need to. Would you believe if we tell you that there are humans who can deep dive into frozen cold waters and stay there for a very long time without any oxygen support? As per a report carried by DW, there exists a small island off the Korean coast which is home to a genetically distinct population of humans who have special powers to protect their body in extreme cold temperatures. Here are all the details you need to know about the special women of the South Korea island. Special women of South Korea The report calls the special humans of South Korea as Haenyeo — literally 'sea women'. They are Korean cultural divers who have specific adaptations in their body allowing them to dive for longer periods than other people. Moreover, the inhabitants of the South Korean island appear to have unique genes that protect their bodies against blood pressure changes while they are diving in extremely low temperatures. 'They now wear wetsuits, but up until the 1980s they were diving in these cotton bodysuits,' Melissa Ilardo, a geneticist at the University of Utah working with these women, was quoting as saying. Special genes of South Korean women As per the report, the special genes of these women provides them an increased tolerance for cold – a trait that allows these women to endure wind-chilled waters hovering near zero degrees Celsius. 'If we can understand how their bodies manage oxygen and regulate blood pressure so effectively, we may be able to translate these insights into therapies for cardiovascular diseases.' Ilardo added.
Express Tribune
08-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Haenyeo divers reveal DNA secrets of endurance and low blood pressure: study says
Listen to article A study published in Cell Reports has revealed that the women of Jeju Island, South Korea, known as Haenyeo, may hold key genetic insights that could lead to breakthroughs in human biology, particularly in the treatment of blood pressure disorders. The Haenyeo, who dive deep into the cold sea without oxygen tanks, have long defied human endurance limits in their centuries-old tradition of harvesting seafood. The research, led by geneticist Melissa Ilardo from the University of Utah, focused on the genetic adaptations of the Haenyeo divers compared to local non-diving women and women from mainland Korea. The study found that Haenyeo women are more than four times as likely to carry a genetic variant associated with lower blood pressure spikes, a trait that may have evolved to protect women during pregnancy. 'They dive throughout winter, sometimes in snow, and until the 1980s they did this in cotton clothes with no protection,' said Ilardo. This adaptation, the study suggests, may help them endure the cold and physiological stress of free diving at great depths. The research also revealed that Haenyeo divers exhibit more efficient oxygen conservation, with heart rates dropping significantly during cold-water tests. This response was more pronounced than in non-diving women, highlighting the Haenyeo's ability to handle extreme conditions. Ilardo's team had previously found similar adaptations in the Bajau divers of Indonesia, who evolved large spleens to support underwater endurance. While the Haenyeo divers also showed signs of enlarged spleens, the size difference was not statistically significant when other factors were accounted for. Ben Trumble, an evolutionary scientist at Arizona State University, commented on the potential medical implications of the findings. "That gene reduced blood pressure by over 10% — that's remarkable," he said, suggesting it could be a promising target for drug development. Despite the scientific breakthroughs, the Haenyeo culture, once integral to life on Jeju Island, is in decline. The average age of a Haenyeo diver is now around 70, and fewer young women are taking up the practice. There are concerns that this could be the last generation of Haenyeo divers. Nevertheless, the study's findings underscore the unique biological traits of these women, whose centuries-old practice could offer a wealth of knowledge. As Ilardo stated, 'What they do is unique and worth celebrating.'
Boston Globe
07-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Genetics of Korea's extreme divers could unlock chronic disease treatments
Now, an international team of researchers has found evidence of natural selection at work: a genetic variation found in Jeju Islanders that helps to keep their blood pressure from rising as much when diving, according to a paper published in the journal Cell Reports. In theory, understanding the genetic adaptation could lead to the development of medications that help people at risk for stroke or blood pressure problems. Advertisement 'When you're diving, your blood vessels are responding in complicated ways to try to keep your vital organs safe as your oxygen is running low,' explained Melissa Ilardo, assistant professor of biomedical informatics at the University of Utah Health, who led the study. 'It becomes a trade-off between short term and long term benefits - what keeps you safe while you're diving might lead to complications further down the line. Evolution seems to have found a way to balance this out - a genetic variant that may protect divers while they're holding their breath and beyond.' Advertisement In their study, researchers discovered two kinds of adaptation at work. The first, developed over centuries, affects part of the genetic blueprint of all Jeju Islanders whether or not they dive, providing a protective blood pressure response to immersion in water. The variant is also thought to protect pregnant women who dive from developing preeclampsia, a complication of pregnancy that can be serious, even fatal. The other adaptation, present only in the Haenyeo, is gained from training and causes the heart rate to slow when the women dive. 'When you're diving, every heartbeat is bringing more oxygen to your cells which is normally a good thing,' Ilardo said, 'but when you don't have oxygen coming in, you want to slow that down.' Although it has not been established definitively, the history of diving and the genetic adaptation might be the reason Jeju Islanders have one of the lowest age-standardized stroke death rates in South Korea: a little over 24 deaths per 100,000 people; the rate in the United States is about 37 deaths per 100,000 people. The Haenyeo are not the only diving population scientists have studied. Ilardo and others have examined the male and female Bajau divers of Indonesia who have evolved larger spleens, which may help them hold their breath longer underwater. Other scientists have investigated Tibetans, who have evolved with the ability to live at higher altitudes where there is less oxygen. Insights gained from examining small populations with unique characteristics have helped researchers develop treatments for various medical conditions. The class of medications called PCSK9 inhibitors, used to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, were discovered when research teams studied a French family with the genetic condition familial hypercholesterolemia, which affects about one in 300 people worldwide. Advertisement Ilardo said it is not clear why the Jeju Island divers are all women, 'but at some point, we think, it switched from men and women diving, which we see in many places in the world, to all women.' In the course of her work on the Haenyeo, Ilardo made three trips to Jeju Island and collaborated with another scientist, Joo-Young Lee, from Seoul National University, who has spent years with the divers and earned their trust. 'I mean it's mind-blowing, especially given the average of age of the divers,' Ilardo said. 'I watched an 87-year-old woman jump off a boat that hadn't stopped moving.' Although generations of Haenyeo dove into the icy waters wearing only cotton bodysuits, around the 1980s, they began wearing wetsuits. The scientists compared three groups of about 30 women each: Haenyeo; non-Haenyeo Jeju Islanders; and non-Haenyeo women from the South Korean mainland. The authors acknowledged the study was limited by its relatively small sample size. Researchers measured physiological characteristics, such as blood pressure and heart rate, then sequenced the DNA of participants to look for genetic differences. In a simulated dive, ordinary Jeju Islanders' heartbeats slowed by about 20 beats per minute, researchers found, about the same amount as women on the South Korean mainland. In the same circumstances, the Haenyeo, who have been diving their whole lives, slow their heartbeats by up to twice that number. In simulated dives, participants held their breath and submerged their faces in a basin of cold water, which triggers the same response in the body as diving. The simulation allowed the researchers to carry out the study without having untrained, and possibly non-swimming, older women try to dive in the open ocean. Advertisement The genetic variant shared by Jeju Islanders, not just the Haenyeo, triggers the protective blood pressure response to immersion in water, but it's not entirely clear how it works. The variant appears to influence a receptor that plays a role in blood vessel inflammation. Ilardo and her colleagues validated their findings by searching the large-scale All of Us database, run by the National Institutes of Health, for people with the same genetic variant. They found that among people of European ancestry, the same variant was linked to the protective blood pressure response seen in the Jeju Islanders, though the effect was not as strong. The scientists think that natural selection for this genetic variation started about 1,200 years ago. The process, they say, may have unfolded like this: Two pregnant Jeju Island women were diving many years ago. One of them carried the protective genetic variant while the other did not. Over the course of her pregnancy, the woman without the protective variant developed preeclampsia because of her daily diving; the condition led to the deaths of mother and child. The woman with the protective variant survived and so did her children. Even the loss of a few children per generation adds up over time. Gradually, more and more Jeju Island children are born with the variant. Tatum Simonson, associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego Health, called the study, which she was not involved in, 'a good first step towards understanding how genetic adaptation, but also importantly, how training can have an effect on blood pressure in these sort of extreme conditions.' Advertisement Simonson cautioned that working with blood pressure measurements can be challenging. Human blood pressure is a snapshot in time that reflects what is going on in a person's life at that moment. It will be different if a person is anxious, excited, angry, or depressed. To their credit, she said, the scientists collected multiple blood pressure readings at different points. Ilardo collaborated on the research with a team of physiologists led by Nikolai Nordsborg at the University of Copenhagen.
