A University of South Florida associate professor is attempting to break a world record by living underwater for 100 days. Joseph Dituri is studying how the human body responds to long-term exposure to extreme pressure–all while teaching his biomedical engineering class online.
Living beneath the sea
Dituri will live 30 feet below the surface in a 100-square-foot habitat located at Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo. A medical team will document the 55-year-old’s health by routinely diving to his habitat to run a series of tests. Before, during and after the project, Dituri will complete a series of psychosocial, psychological and medical tests, including blood panels, ultrasounds and electrocardiograms, as well as stem cell tests.
A psychologist and psychiatrist will also document the mental effects of being in an isolated, confined environment for an extended period. The experience is similar to space travel.
“The human body has never been underwater that long, so I will be monitored closely,” Dituri said. “This study will examine every way this journey impacts my body. But my null hypothesis is that there will be improvements to my health due to the increased pressure.”
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Dituri is advancing conclusions found in a study, where cells exposed to increased pressure doubled within five days. This suggests the increased pressure has the potential to allow humans to increase their longevity. As well as prevent diseases associated with aging.
“So, we suspect I am going to come out super-human!” Dituri said.
More about Joseph Dituri
Dituri found his passion for science while serving in the U.S. Navy for 28 years as a saturation diving officer. After retiring in 2012 as a commander, Dituri enrolled at USF to earn his doctoral degree to learn more about traumatic brain injuries.
“Many of my brothers and sisters in the military suffered traumatic brain injuries. And I wanted to learn how to help them,” Dituri said. “I knew well that hyperbaric pressure could increase cerebral blood flow and hypothesized it could be used to treat traumatic brain injuries. I hypothesize that applying the known mechanisms of action for hyperbaric medicine could be used to treat a broad spectrum of diseases.”
The 100-day mission includes several other projects. Dituri also will test new technologies. This includes an artificial intelligence tool that can screen a human body for illness and determine a person needs medication.
Other scientists will join him underwater for discussions on ways to preserve, protect and rejuvenate the marine environment. This will all be streamed on Dituri’s YouTube channel.
You can visit yourself!
Dituri plans to use this project as a platform for STEM outreach by welcoming adults and children with chaperones to join him for 24 hours at a time. This will give them an opportunity to explore the ocean and learn the research process. He hopes it will inspire the next generation of researchers.
“Everything we need to survive is here on the planet,” he said. “I suspect the cure to many diseases can be found in undiscovered organisms in the ocean. To find out, we need more researchers.”
The current world record for living underwater is 73 days. Two Tennessee professors set this record in 2014. They also stayed at Jules’ Undersea Lodge.