A group in Southeast Asia called the Bajau has a unique gene mutation that allows them to live and grow underwater, hence their name, "sea nomads."
The Bajau people have lived in the sea for almost a thousand years, spearfishing and collecting crabs for food. They are known for being excellent divers.
How Families Change Over Time: The Spleen's Secret
The Bajau have bigger spleens than other groups because they have lived at sea for generations. It would help if you had a bigger spleen for diving because it stores oxygen-rich red blood cells and works like a biological dive tank.
Melissa Ilardo from the University of Copenhagen says Bajau divers spend about 60% of their time underwater. Because of their unique way of life, their bodies have changed, especially the size of their spleens.
According to Ilardo's research, the Bajau have a spleen about 50% bigger than their nearby communities. This is because of a gene called PDE10A.
This gene controls thyroid hormone in mice and affects the size of the spleen in people. The Bajau need this change because they dive to depths of over 70 meters with traditional wooden masks and weighted belts.
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Taking on Today's Challenges: Who Are These Fish-Men?
Even though the Bajau have adapted so well, pollution and Western culture pose significant problems. The sea, their main source of income, is getting increasingly polluted with plastic trash. The elder of the group, Santarawi Lalisan, was worried about how the switch from traditional materials to plastic has polluted their water.
The Bajau used to live on houseboats and move from place to place, getting everything they needed from the sea. Their unique adaptation lets them dive for extended amounts of time, but environmental changes could make this way of life dangerous. Damage to coral reefs and a drop in fish populations are big problems that make it hard for them to survive.
Many Bajau people are still committed to their ancient way of life despite facing problems. They still spearfish using ways passed down from generation to generation. Santarawi has been diving for 85 years and still holds his breath underwater for almost 10 minutes. This shows how strong the Bajau people are.
How the Bajau has changed over time reveals much about human biology and how genes can adjust to fit different settings. Scientists like Ilardo and her colleague Professor Rasmus Nielsen from the University of California, Berkeley, think studying the Bajau could help medical research by providing essential details about how people react to low oxygen levels.
Their unique way of life is in danger, though. Their semi-nomadic society is in danger because of Western influences and environmental damage. Plastic pollution, in particular, makes their traditional ways of life and the marine environment they rely on very dangerous.
Santarawi and other elders stress the importance of protecting their traditions and the land they live on. They hope to keep their link to the sea alive by teaching younger generations how to dive and fish. Still, they know they must protect their rivers and stop pollution immediately to ensure their community can stay alive.
The Bajau's notable genetic change, which lets them stay underwater for hours, shows how adaptable humans are. But problems in modern times are putting their way of life at risk. As more research is done on the Bajau, more knowledge and understanding will likely lead to attempts to protect their culture and marine environment.
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