What you need to know

A sea culture tradition spanning generations may have given the people of an isolated South Korean island a unique set of genetic "superpowers" — lower blood pressure and cold tolerance mutations that could help science develop new medical treatments in the future.

The Haenyeo — literally "sea women" — divers live on Jeju Island, 53 miles (85 km) south of the South Korean mainland.

From adolescence, they train to deep dive to harvest food from the seabed.

A transatlantic research team has found the Haenyeo's generations-long cultural practice has helped them develop adaptations enabling them to dive longer than other humans.

But they have also evolved genetically to have lower blood pressure and enhanced cold-water tolerance.

If the researchers' findings are correct, this means the Haenyeo are one of only two groups of people known to have, quite literally, evolved to dive.

Genomic analysis found Haenyeo had developed at least three distinctive traits.

The first is a non-genetic adaptation — bradycardia: a slow heart rate, below 60 beats per minute.

While this phenomenon can occur due to medical conditions, it can also result from cardiovascular training. Bradycardia also manifests during their deep dives as part of an evolutionary response called the mammalian dive........

© Deutsche Welle