Can humans evolve to live underwater? (2024)

FAQs

Can humans evolve to live underwater? ›

There are humans (Bajau Laut- sea nomads) who can hold their breath for longer durations (up to some minutes) underwater. However, it is biologically impossible to evolve (or devolve) to live underwater in a short period.

Waterside hypotheses of human evolution assert that selection from wading, swimming and diving and procurement of food from aquatic habitats have significantly affected the evolution of the lineage leading to hom*o sapiens as distinct from that leading to Pan.

Humans cannot breathe underwater because our lungs do not have enough surface area to absorb enough oxygen from water, and the lining in our lungs is adapted to handle air rather than water. However, there have been experiments with humans breathing other liquids, like fluorocarbons.

Oxygen from our gills would keep us from blacking out as we moved deeper, but below 200 meters or so we'd reach the bathyal zone, where it's dark and the water is 59 degrees Fahrenheit or colder [source: Britannica]. Living underwater in the shallows without some pressurized airspace wouldn't be an option either.

“The only place where temperatures were consistent was in the deep ocean,” Sperling said. In a world of limited oxygen, the newly evolving life needed to be as efficient as possible and that could only be achieved in the relatively stable depths.

Although the exact process by which life formed on Earth is not well understood, the origin of life requires the presence of carbon-based molecules, liquid water and an energy source.

No. First, gills are hard to get to from a mammal starting point. Look t dolphins a d whales. They are fully aquatic but haven't evolved gills.

Gills work for fish because fish, being cold-blooded, don't need that much oxygen. A typical warm-blooded human being might require 15 times more oxygen per pound of body weight than a cold-blooded fish. When swimming, a human being would require even more oxygen than normal.

For reasons that still aren't well understood, human skin starts to break down after continuous immersion in water of a few days. You'd suffer open sores and be liable to fungal and bacterial infections just from the spores on your skin, even if the water itself was perfectly sterile.

Beneath an undersea volcano, scientists have discovered a hidden world filled with bizarre creatures. The first-of-its-kind habitat is teeming with never-before-seen life-forms, including strange species of worms, snails and deep-dwelling octopuses.

Could we build a city underwater? ›

The Future of Underwater Cities

With all of these incredible underwater structures already existing around the world, a natural question emerges: Why can't we build underwater cities? The short answer is that we can. We have the materials, technologies and construction techniques to support human cities under the sea.

Humans cannot breathe underwater because our lungs do not have enough surface area to absorb enough oxygen from water, and the lining in our lungs is adapted to handle air rather than water.

First cells likely arose in steamy mud pots, study suggests. Earth's first cellular life probably arose in vats of warm, slimy mud fed by volcanically heated steam—and not in primordial oceans, scientists say. (Also see "All Species Evolved From Single Cell, Study Finds.")

The same goes for deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These chimney-like vents form where seawater comes into contact with magma on the ocean floor, resulting in streams of superheated plumes. The microorganisms that live near such plumes have led some scientists to suggest them as the birthplaces of Earth's first life forms.

Over half of human blood is made up of water (SF Fig. 1.5)! About three-quarters of our body is made up of water. Water regulates body temperature, maintains our muscles, lubricates joints, prevents constipation, flushes out waste products, carries nutrients to our cells, and protects our organs and tissues.

Before, when people lived as hunters/ collectors, river water was applied for drinking water purposes. When people permanently stayed in one place for a long period of time, this was usually near a river or lake. When there were no rivers or lakes in an area, people used groundwater for drinking water purposes.

New study suggests humans evolved to run on less water than our closest primate relatives. Humans may have evolved to need less water than our closest animal relatives, according to a new study.