A former Navy diver who spent 100 days living underwater revealed how the experiment impacted his epigenetic age when he resurfaced.
Dr Joseph Dituri, better known as 'Dr Deep Sea', claims he managed to reverse the effects of the hands of time by camping out below the surface for three months.
Back in 2023, the biomedical researcher and former Naval Commander lived at the bottom of a 30ft-deep lagoon located in Key Largo, Florida, all in the name of science.
He ended up completing 100 days down there while carrying out his extravagant experiment, having taken the plunge on 1 March that year before finally resurfacing weeks later on 9 June.
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Dituri, 57, even bagged a Guinness World Record in the process - but the real reasons behind him turning the water into his temporary 'habitat' were a lot bigger than the glory of breaking a world record.
The professor, who fittingly hails from Oceanside, New York, wanted to find out how his body would fare underwater for such an extensive period of time.
He's taken a special interest in hyperbaric medicine and high carbon dioxide environments throughout his career, as well as serving as a Director of the International Board of Undersea Medicine (IBUM).
And while teaching biomedical engineering at the University of South Florida, all of his passions came together in 2023 when he decided to embark on his bizarre 100-day getaway below the surface.
In the lagoon, Dituri lived in Jules’ Undersea Lodge - a tiny 9m by 9m room made of steel and glass that he had to scuba dive to get to.
According to the University of South Florida, Dituri headed off underwater in the hopes of finding 'ways to revive marine environments', as well as to 'test medical technology that could prevent a myriad of diseases in people'.
The mission, known as Project Neptune 100, was also a 'long-term study of the physiological and psychological effects of compression on the human body', according to organisers at the Marine Resources Development Foundation.
As well as this, it was hoped they could 'use the uniqueness of the mission and location to bring more awareness of current marine research and the importance of conservation of our ocean’s resources and processes'.
Given Dituri's interests, he was also keen to find out how living in a high-pressure environment, such as the Jules’ Undersea Lodge, could impact his health - in a similar fashion to how hyperbaric therapy can be used medicinally.
Alongside a team of experts, he gathered data on his health on a daily basis which he later compared to tests which were conducted before the experiment began, to see what difference there was.
"The information will determine how the confined, rich-oxygen environment can impact an individual mentally and physically," the university said at the time.
Dituri later told of what become of all these tests on his blood, urine, saliva, heart, brain and lungs which he did while living underwater.
Among all of the interesting outcomes, the one which impressed the professor the most was what had happened to his epigenetic age - which is a calculation of our biological age based on a variety of DNA markers.
In a video discussing the results, Dituri explained: "When I lived underwater for 100 days, I did blood, urine, saliva, electrocardiograms, electroencephalogram and pulmonary function tests.
"A crazy amount of tests - about seven or eight hours of science per day."
He explained that at the beginning of the experiment, his epigenetic age was measured at 44 - which was already a decent start, considering he was 55 at the time.
By the time he resurfaced 100 days later, it had dwindled to just 34... and Dituri put it best when he said this proved 'we're doing something right'.
"We're going in the correct direction," he continued. "There are other things that go along with [reducing epigenetic age], but it's just a lifestyle.
"I do a lot of research when it comes to hyperbaric medicine, getting stuff from off label to on label, and moving the needle if you will. There's a self-appointed committee and then there's the FDA.
"There's a new group of scientists that are out there that are looking at applying those mechanisms of action scientifically across a broad spectrum of things that are out there, all these ailments that are out there.
"And then seeing if we can heal them naturally - without a pill, without any other drugs, without harmful side effects."
Dituri also told WKMG News: "I actually got younger when I was under the water," while claiming that blood tests showed a 50 percent reduction in every inflammatory marker in his body.
He reckons his extraordinary 'age reversal' was a result of living in the high-pressure, or 'hyperbaric', environment of Jules’ Undersea Lodge.
Olivia Burke