AssetID: 52803521
Headline: Dr. Joseph Dituri Completes Record-Breaking 100 Day Stint Underwater
Caption: After a world record 100 days living underwater, pioneering researcher Dr. Joseph Dituri resurfaced on Friday (09June2023) at 10:30 a.m. in Key Largo, the Florida Keys. He is the first to ever achieve this length of stay underwater. Dituri began his mission on 1 March, through a partnership with MarineLab Resources Development Foundation, setting the record for longest time spent living in an underwater habitat on 13 May, day 73 of the mission. Dituri has been living underwater to inspire future science scholars and to conduct science with others while also working on projects related to his study of traumatic brain injury, PTSD and other brain traumas. “To explore anything new always results in personal and professional discoveries,” said Dr. Joseph Dituri. “This experience has changed me in important ways, and my greatest hope is that I have inspired a new generation of explorers and researchers to push past all boundaries.” Over 14 weeks, Dituri conducted 124 online interactions, engaging with more than 5,500 students from 12 countries bringing the message of STEM discovery to students of all ages. Dituri's research focused on how the human body and mind reacts to, or copes with, being in an isolated, confined extreme (ICE) environment for an extended period of time. A team of 12 medical doctors conducted routine testing of Dituri’s brain waves, heart rate, blood pressure, ear pressure, urine, oxygen saturation and muscle measuring. Dituri shrunk half an inch during the mission, and preliminary science findings include that while living undersea, Dituri slept in 60-66% in REM sleep consistently, compared to 40% prior. Also, while living undersea, Dituri’s cholesterol dropped 72 points and remained low, while all of his inflammatory markers decreased by 30% and remained low. Dituri plans to share his mission findings and research at the World Extreme Medical Conference in Scotland this November. More than 60 people visited Dituri undersea, including his mother and brother, 26 MarineLab young explorers, and a handful of scientists. Dituri is an associate professor at the University of South Florida, and taught his May Term biomedical engineering course from undersea. Dituri lived in a 100-square-foot lab, 22 feet below the surface at Jules Undersea Lodge, the only underwater hotel in the United States. While undersea, Dituri breathed in compressed air, which prevented water from rising and entering the lab. He 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 the University of South Florida to earn his doctoral degree to learn more about traumatic brain injuries which intrigued him further. Today, he has worked with Veterans, athletes and others to continue the learning path of brain injury.
Keywords: joseph dituri,florida,science,deep sea,ocean,diving,feature,photo,technology,sea,water
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