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A scientist claims to have extended his lifespan by 20 percent after living underwater for 93 days.
Joseph Dituri, 55, a retired naval officer, has been living in a 30-square-meter capsule at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for 92 days, studying how a pressurized environment affects the human body.
The mission also aimed to beat the world record for underwater life – the previous stay was 73 days.
Dituri told DailyMail.com that doctors ran tests on his body to see how it changed from March to June, including tests that measure telomeres, connections at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with age.
He claims they are now 20 percent longer and that he has up to 10 times more stem cells than when he first moved to the underwater pod in March.
Joseph Dituri spent 92 days 30 feet under the Atlantic Ocean, breaking the previous record of 73 days. He plans to spend 100 days
Dituri experiences 60 to 66 percent deep REM sleep each night, his markers of inflammation have halved and his cholesterol has dropped by 72 points, he claims.
The scientist gave no details on how his telomeres were measured, but there are testing services that measure their length from blood samples.
And most services take about two weeks to show results.
The health changes are due to the pressure, which is similar to the process in hyperbaric chambers, which have been found to improve cerebral blood flow, brain metabolism, and brain microstructure, leading to improved cognitive functions, physical function, sleep, and corridor.
A study conducted by Tel Aviv University in 2020 found that hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) can stop the aging of blood cells and reverse the aging process in healthy aging adults.
The researchers exposed 35 healthy individuals aged 64 or older to a series of 60 hyperbaric sessions over 90 days.
Each participant provided blood samples before, during and at the end of the treatments and some time after the treatments ended. The researchers then analyzed different immune cells in the blood and compared the results.
Targeting immune cells containing DNA obtained from the participants’ blood, the study found a lengthening of up to 38 percent in telomeres, according to Tel Aviv University. press release.
Dituri uses the pressurized environment to study how the human body responds to prolonged exposure to extreme pressure in a small space for 100 days – a similar environment that spacefaring heroes will endure on their journey to the Red Planet.
“You need one of these places that’s closed off from outside activity,” Dituri told DailyMail.com, referring to the tiny pod.
“Send people here for a two-week vacation where they can get their feet scrubbed, relaxed, and experienced the benefits of hyperbaric medicine.”
Dituri embarked on this epic mission on March 1 with the goal of not only breaking the record for longest underwater life – previously it was 73 days – but also learning how the pressure can benefit the human body.
He trains for an hour four to five days a week, but only has access to exercise bands. He told DailyMail.com that he is slimmer and has more muscle mass than before
He trains for an hour four to five days a week, but only has access to exercise bands.
“I still keep the mass I have, which is insane,” Dituri said.
‘My metabolism has increased, so my body has become leaner, while my muscle mass has not changed [since I was on the surface]I’m still skinnier than I was.’
The change in the number of stem cells has also been part of his research.
Stem cells are a promising potential solution for reversing the visible signs of aging, and Stanford discovered that old human cells can be rejuvenated with stem cells.
When DailyMail.com first spoke to Dituri, he was only 24 days into the mission and said he suspected his telomeres would be getting much longer — and he was right.
Previous research has shown that telomeres, which protect chromosomes from fraying, lengthen when the body is under extreme stress.
“We suspect, or we know in hyperbaric medicine, after about 60 treatments for an hour a day at a higher pressure than I’m at now, for an hour a day you’re going to make them grow between 25 and 33 percent. The jury is out.” still insists it’s not full of science,” Dituri said in March.
And speaking to the scientist recently, he said connections had grown by 20 percent.
Although the underwater lodge is small, the pod has a work area, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms
“We knew this was going to happen. The question is whether it is these sticks. That’s what we want to see when we get out of here,’ Dituri said.
Although the underwater lodge is small, the pod has a work area, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a small “pool” that acts as an exit and entrance and a window with a view of the ocean.
Dituri told DailyMail. com from the bunker on day 24: ‘I’m love it. I have a coffee maker because God knows science isn’t possible without coffee.’
He has also tested technology that could be used to help astronauts make the epic journey to Mars.
One of the devices is a pre-NASA tool, meaning it must be tested before the agency adopts it.
It’s similar to Star Trek’s tricorder, which scans the body to monitor a person’s health and determine if they need medical attention.
Dituri is also researching how to prevent the loss of muscle mass in space, which astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) suffer from.
“We are going to Mars, but it will take 200 days to get there in the best home and transfer window,” Dituri told DailyMail.com.
‘[When you get there] you’re going to have less muscle mass, and you’re not going to be able to see far, and you’re not going to be really in great shape, and you’re going to have decreased bone density, and we’re going to land you hard on a sustainable market as it lands and falls to the ground.
“I think that might be a bad idea, and we need to sort things out first, but that’s just me.”
Dituri’s home away from home is located at Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo.
After retiring as a commanding officer in 2012, Dituri enrolled at the University of South Florida to earn his doctorate to learn more about traumatic brain injury.
Dituri is a father of three girls: Sophie, 19, Josephine, 27, and Gabrielle, 21
‘There’s a TV, although I really don’t know how to turn it on. I have a small freezer like in a hotel room,” he said, also noting that he keeps a stash of chocolate in the pod.
A small microwave is on a shelf, the only thing that can be used for cooking.
“Every good hotel should have a pool, and my hotel has a very small outdoor pool,” Dituri said.
‘That’s how we go in and out of the habitat. So when I go diving with all my diving gear, I put it on. I’ll get out of the hole, and then I’ll dive around. So that’s how people come in and they leave.’
Dituri sleeps on a twin-size bed with a small bunk on top, which is the same setup in an adjoining room for scientists who visit him.
Dituri found his passion for science while serving 28 years as a saturation diving officer in the United States Navy.
After retiring in 2012 as a commanding officer, Dituri enrolled at the University of South Florida to earn his doctorate to learn more about traumatic brain injury.
And he is also a published author.
“I was bored during COVID because they wouldn’t let me treat patients for the first few months, so I wrote a book,” Dituri said, noting that it’s available on Amazon.
It’s called Secrets in Depth. It’s about a nice Italian kid from New York who joins the Navy and gets into a lot of trouble with the CIA.’
While the scientist works to find a cure for the astronauts’ ailments, he also misses his three daughters, whom he is excited about every chance he gets.
His 21-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, graduated from the California Institute of Technology in May, an event he was unable to attend.
Sophie, 19, enjoys working at a restaurant in South Tampa, Florida and Josephine, 27, has a master’s degree in psychology and works in New York City.