A rare mutation among the Bajau people lets them stay underwater longer: natural selection at the PDE10A gene has increased spleen size in the Bajau, providing them with a larger reservoir of oxygenated red blood cells.
Rare Mutation Among Bajau People Lets Them Stay Underwater Longer The Bajau people of Malaysia and the Philippines are renowned for their free-diving abilities, often working eight-hour shifts in search of fish and other sea critters. Underwater sessions can last upwards of two minutes, with accumulated daily totals of breath-holding often reaching five hours. New …