Sometimes they descend to a depth of 70 meters without diving aids
Most people can hold their breath for about sixty seconds, some for several minutes.
On the other hand, members of the Bajau tribe from Indonesia push the boundaries, even entering the realm of science fiction. Their abilities are fascinating, so it's no wonder they're called "fish people."
Members of the Bajau tribe spend almost their entire lives at sea - and underwater. They live in boats or huts built on shallow reefs and migrate from place to place. For this reason, they are also called "sea nomads."
Their food consists of seafood and animals that they catch themselves, LadBible reports, Telegrafi forwards.
Besides Indonesia, those tribes can be found in the Philippines and Malaysia. Some studies say that they have lived in the mentioned areas for more than 1000 years.
They also have unreal diving skills. Sometimes they descend to a depth of 70 meters without diving equipment(!), more precisely with weights and handmade wooden goggles.
We mentioned that most people can hold their breath for about sixty seconds, but some members of the Bajau tribe claim they stayed underwater for 13 minutes!
Professor Melissa Ilardo from the University of Copenhagen conducted research on a unique tribe from Indonesia and presented her findings to the BBC.
"They dive several times a day, up to eight hours. About 60 percent of their time is under water," she explained.
While trying to penetrate the secret of their abilities, Ilardo came to extraordinary knowledge.
"We know that seals and other diving marine mammals have an enlarged spleen, out of proportion to their body size. I think the solution to the puzzle lies in this body," she said.
What is it? The spleen isn't the most important organ in the human body—you can technically live without it, but while you have it, it supports the immune system and recycles red blood cells.
Professor Ilardo made her conclusion after visiting the Bajau tribe, National Geographic reports.
“I wanted to get to know the community first, not just show up with scientific equipment and leave. Later I brought a portable ultrasound machine and saliva collection box. We went to different houses and photographed their spleens," she revealed.
Thus, she determined that the spleen size of her hosts was 50 percent larger than that of their mainland compatriots, the Saluans!
Through the research, they also found the PDE10A gene, which is thought to control a certain thyroid hormone. Members of the Saluan tribe did not have such a gene.
Therefore, "sea nomads" have an enlarged spleen that stores oxidized red blood cells, which most likely allows them to hold their breath longer.
The spleen is involved in the so-called human response to immersion. When the body is immersed in cold water, the heart rate slows, the blood vessels in the extremities shrink and the spleen shrinks.
This contraction injects additional oxygen-rich cells into the blood, allowing the body to survive longer underwater. /Telegraph/
