Genetic Adaptation Affects Response to Low Oxygen

Gregg L. Semenza, a Nobel laureate in medicine, spoke in Rome about how bodies respond differently to oxygen deprivation.

He explained that some populations develop genetic adaptations to low oxygen levels over generations. Semenza, an expert on cellular responses to oxygen, noted the critical importance of oxygen for heart and brain function.

He also emphasized careful ascent planning during diving, as dissolved gases in the blood can cause complications alongside oxygen deficiency. Semenza cited pearl divers in Korea and Indonesia as examples of populations with genetic traits enabling them to withstand prolonged submersion. Similar adaptations appear in people living at high altitudes.

These observations offer a scientific perspective on recent tragedies, like those in the Maldives, where the human body has strict limits when oxygen is scarce. While his Nobel work clarifies how cells detect oxygen and adjust, much remains unknown about the full extent of these adaptations and their protective effects.