WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.040 Welcome. This is Barsha for Radio I, and today I 2 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:09.039 will be reading National Geographic Magazine dated February twenty twenty five. 3 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.359 As a reminder, Radio E is a reading service intended 4 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:15.400 for people who are blind or have other disabilities that 5 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:19.480 make it difficult to read printed material. Please join me 6 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:22.800 now for the continuation of the article I began last time, 7 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:27.600 entitled The Hunt for the Other Humans by Brook Larmer. 8 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:35.799 Venturing into the new Laotian cave called tom Nune Suzoni 9 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:38.399 and the team of scientists entered the realm of the 10 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:42.479 distant past, time collapsed and the remnants of ancient floods 11 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:47.439 became apparent. Deep in the cave, Geologist Philippe Duringer trained 12 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.320 his head lamp on multiple thin layers of limestone and 13 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:54.359 casing thick seams of sediment and rock, knowned as brescia. 14 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.119 That flowstone took thousands of years to form, but the 15 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.119 sediment flooded in here in a single event, maybe in 16 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:03.840 a single day, he said. Near the back of the cave, 17 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.200 tiny shadows appeared on the wall, silhouettes of bones and 18 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:11.400 ancient teeth sticking out of the brescia, still all entombed. 19 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:16.079 On that day, more than five five fifty thousand years ago, 20 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.680 Suzoni wriggled into the cave's deepest chamber on his back, 21 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:23.680 his face inches from the fossil encrusted ceiling. Maybe, with 22 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:26.000 a little luck, he would make another discovery that would 23 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:31.599 change the map of human evolution. Reimagining how humans evolved. 24 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:35.200 Homo sapiens are a terminal species, meaning we are the 25 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:38.159 only ones left from a group of multiple species that 26 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:43.599 occasionally coexisted and sometimes even interbread. These separations and rejoinings 27 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.920 of our various lineages have led some scientists to think 28 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:50.040 of human evolution as less of a traditional family tree 29 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:57.079 and more of a meandering, braided stream. Woodland dwellers called ardipiths, 30 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:02.920 occasionally bipedal and with opposable big toes, yielded to Australopiths 31 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:09.000 as savannahs encroached on forests. Australopiths lived in many habitats, 32 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:12.439 stretching from grasslands to forests, and eventually gave rise to 33 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:19.120 hominins in the genus Homo robust Australopiths had strong jaws 34 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.719 and large molars specialized for foods like grasses that were 35 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:27.120 available in open habitats. Homo Sapiens are the only remaining 36 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:32.280 humans are Genus Homo, features relatively larger brains full by padalism, 37 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:37.080 and the ability to make tools. How early humans migrated 38 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.719 and mixed. Homo sapiens are the only humans left on 39 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.400 Earth today, but at one point we shared the planet 40 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:46.800 with other species of ancestral humans, collectively known as hominins. 41 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:51.919 As climates and ecological opportunities shifted, hominins migrated out of Africa, 42 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.520 reconnecting and inche breeding with the descendants of their relatives 43 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:01.879 who had made similar journeys thousands of years before influence Neanderthals. 44 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:06.879 Human Neanderthalensis lived and moved in a broad range of 45 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.439 environments from Europe to Siberia. Evidence in Graut Madarin, a 46 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:15.439 cave in the south of France, suggests that they interbred 47 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:21.240 with h. Sapiens. African dispersal. A Homo sapien's fossil was 48 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:25.800 found at Jabel el Rode, Morocco and dated to around 49 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.400 three hundred thousand years ago, implying that early populations were 50 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:36.280 scattered throughout Africa. Species origin. Haminins originated in Africa, diversifying 51 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:41.080 into several species occupying different ecological niches. Most ancient Haminin 52 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:44.159 fossils have been found in the Great Rift Valley and 53 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:51.199 in Southern Africa Siberian lineage. The Denisovin genome was decoded 54 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.360 in twenty ten from earlier finds of a finger bone 55 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:59.240 and a tooth in Denisova Cave in Russia. West Asian 56 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:03.800 adaptation scientists proposed that before Homo sapiens spread across Europe 57 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:06.759 and Asia, they might have lingered in the Arabian Peninsula 58 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:11.080 and Iranian Plateau for thirty thousand years, slowly adapting to 59 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:15.599 the new climate there. Far East. Evidence a skull found 60 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:21.360 in Harbin, China in nineteen thirty three, resurfaced in twenty eighteen. Homolonghi, 61 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:25.160 or dragon Man, is roughly one hundred forty six thousand 62 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.439 years old and likely the same species as the mysterious 63 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:36.360 Denisovens Island Isolation. Haminin fossils found in Indonesia and the Philippines, 64 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:42.319 such as the hobbit like Homo florenciensis and h. Luzonansis, 65 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:48.040 suggest that isolation contributed to their small stature. Australian advances. 66 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:52.879 Homosapiens reached Australia around sixty five thousand years ago, while 67 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:56.800 lower sea levels connected many islands, including Australia and New Guinea. 68 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:02.680 Early humans would have needed watercraft to get there. Homoerectus 69 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:06.560 leaves Africa. This hominin species that existed for more than 70 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:10.439 a million years, left Africa about one zero point eight 71 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:15.519 million years ago. Its descendants eventually became Homo Neanderthalensis in 72 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:20.160 the west and diniz evens in the east, Homo sapiens emerges. 73 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.480 There is evidence that Homo sapiens first radiated out of 74 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:27.279 Africa at least two hundred thousand years ago. Scientists believe 75 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:30.839 most humans today are related to the last migration of 76 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:36.199 as few as a thousand people. Next, finding the face 77 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:38.839 of a lost past how a new image of a 78 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:43.399 mysterious hominin was made for National Geographic Paleo art breathes 79 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.920 life into scientific discoveries, giving us a rare glimpse into 80 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:52.759 prehistoric times. From Tyrannosaurus Rex's comically short arms to Neanderthal's 81 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:57.480 prominent brow, the science based depictions of extinct creatures continue 82 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:02.839 to captivate our imaginations, and paleo artist John Gershe is 83 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:05.639 one of only a handful of artists of his kind 84 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:09.319 who focus on our long vanished relatives, with his sculpture 85 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:13.519 work appearing in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural Histori's 86 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:18.160 Hall of Human Origins. As scientists continue to uncover more 87 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.199 human species, their discoveries complicate our image of Homo sapiens. 88 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:26.279 Guercio's models, which rely on fossil bones, help bring ancient 89 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:31.360 humans into focus. Gruci's goroal was always clear to get 90 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:33.439 as close as I could to looking into the eyes 91 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.439 of these extinct species. He first became enthralled with Denisovans 92 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:41.199 several years ago when researchers published a paper speculating on 93 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:46.079 the skull features based on recent genetic data from fossil fragments. 94 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.480 He toiled on a three day model drawing on the 95 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:52.720 researcher's projections, but it required a certain amount of guesswork. Then, 96 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:56.800 in twenty twenty one, Chinese researchers unveiled the Harbin's skull, 97 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.399 which some consider to be the most complete Dinizoban fossil 98 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:04.519 found to date. Whersche quickly it turned his artistic and 99 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:08.680 scientific attention to this fascinating fossil, sporting a brain similar 100 00:07:08.680 --> 00:07:11.639 in size to a modern human's, but with a wider 101 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:15.360 mouth and a more prominent brow. The resulting model based 102 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:18.279 on the Harbin skull allows us to see a species. 103 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.680 As more fossils are found in genetic testing is conducted 104 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:28.480 on these new finds, This vision will likely evolved next 105 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:31.240 The secret to a long healthy life, Your life span 106 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:34.879 is overrated. Its health span that really matters now by 107 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:39.360 Dina Fine Marin. We're living much longer than our ancestors, 108 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:41.600 but is that always a good thing. More of us 109 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.519 are also spending a greater portion of our lives, sometimes 110 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:48.079 over a decade, saddled with physical and mental health conditions 111 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:51.079 that can make it challenging to accomplish the tasks of 112 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:53.839 daily life. To make sure we're getting the most out 113 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:58.240 of our entire life span, biologists and longevities researchers are 114 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.600 focusing more and more on ways to boost our number 115 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:05.000 of disease free and active years. This idea is formerly 116 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:08.279 known as health span. Although it first appeared in medical 117 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.279 journals more than thirty years ago, the concept has become 118 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:16.160 increasingly mainstream among clinicians and patients alike, and its definition 119 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.879 has broadened to stress adding more quality time to our 120 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:24.000 later years when certain health conditions could severely impede routine 121 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:30.079 activities treated. Hypertension, for example, wouldn't significantly affect your health span, 122 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:34.159 but a stroke or dementia would, says Harvard Medical School Physicians. 123 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:39.559 Scientists share in Inoe, who studies aging issues. The targets 124 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:45.039 of researchers like Inoe are numerous, understanding the underlying mechanisms 125 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:49.480 of aging, working to identify health promoting genes, and zeroing 126 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:51.720 in on steps to take in our daily lives to 127 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:55.519 improve health span. But the overall data shows a fairly 128 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:59.399 simple conclusion. It is absolutely possible to live healthier even 129 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.000 as we live longer. Just look at the centenarians that 130 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:08.519 researcher Near Barzilai works with at the Albert Einstein College 131 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.879 of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. In academic parlance, 132 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.480 his healthy study participants have what's called compression of morbidity. 133 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.240 They're sick for a very small portion of their lives. 134 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:23.240 They don't just live longer, they live much healthier, says Barzilai. 135 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.879 They got diseases fifty years after their friends and thirty 136 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:31.519 years after their children's friends. Some centenarians thrive through sheer 137 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:34.919 good luck. They were likely born with envy worthy genes, 138 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.639 but pinpointing which of those genes are like are linked 139 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:42.559 to aging related disorders could lead to drugs that mimic 140 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:45.399 their effects for people who were just lucky in the 141 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:50.480 genetic lottery. Barzilai's research has concentrated on the genes that 142 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:54.440 modulate our good cholesterol to help us a healthier in 143 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:58.240 a variety of ways. His study participants are much more 144 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:02.159 likely to have a specific variant of the cholesterol controlling 145 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:06.519 CETP gene. Those patients tend to live longer with better 146 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:10.399 brain function, he says, emulating that gene's effects is now 147 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:13.440 a target of ongoing research with such drugs in our 148 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:17.759 arsenal in the future. Barsli says humans can and will 149 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:21.840 improve their health span, particularly if they follow current recommendations 150 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:26.360 for modifying diet, exercise, and social interactions. Over All, the 151 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:29.159 most cutting edge developments when it comes to health span 152 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:33.080 depend on your perspectives, says Inoe, who also directs the 153 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:38.840 Aging Brain Center at the Harvard affiliated nonprofit Hebrew Senior Life. 154 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:41.639 If you talk with the longevity researcher, they will wax 155 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:45.559 eloquent on the latest drugs being studied to enhance longevity, 156 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:49.240 mostly in non human models or animals at this stage, 157 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:52.279 she says. But to her, the most important work in 158 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:56.720 health span focuses on prevention. That includes, she says, eating 159 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.919 a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in carbs, 160 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:04.039 avoiding tobacco and excess alcohol, and keeping mentally active and 161 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:09.480 socially engaged with activities like volunteering and regular aerobic exercise. 162 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:15.679 Recent research published in JAMMA Internal Medicine, where Anoa serves 163 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:19.600 as editor in chief, shows that diet, exercise, brain games, 164 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:25.240 and other steps can significantly help preserve brain health. Barcela agrees, 165 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:29.000 right now, without taking any drugs, we can basically maximize 166 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:33.279 our exercise, our nutrition, our sleep, and our social connectivity. 167 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.360 He says, those are the four things that anybody who 168 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:40.120 wants to can do. Good sleep is essential, even if 169 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:43.759 it's something you need to continually work on, advises longevity 170 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:48.559 researcher Matt caber Line of the University of Washington and 171 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:53.120 CEO of Seattle based optis Span, a biotech company that 172 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:58.320 specializes in identifying health span improvements. Getting less than seven 173 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.840 hours a night as an adult in increases the risk 174 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:06.200 of developing numerous disorders, including type two diabetes. High blood pressure, 175 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:10.799 heart disease, poor mental health, and even early death. According 176 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.720 to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 177 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:17.840 broad strokes of a healthy diet are well documented, but 178 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:22.320 different strategies work for different people. Caber Line says, whether 179 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.360 it's a Mediterranean diet which is high in fruits, veggies, 180 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:29.879 and whole grains, or approaches such as intermittent fasting or 181 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:34.440 a low carb, high fat catogenic diet, he says, there 182 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:37.639 always should be a focus on what feels right for you. 183 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:41.120 Caber Line argues that a lot of progress in health 184 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:44.879 span could be made by better monitoring of baseline health 185 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:49.399 data such as vitamin hormone and blood sugar levels. Asking 186 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.519 your doctors to measure those indicators in your thirties or 187 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.879 forties could inform what actions to take later in life 188 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:59.440 and let you know if urgent interventions are needed, though 189 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:03.399 caver Line notes that often such testing isn't covered by 190 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:06.519 health insurance in the United States. At the same time, 191 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:10.320 simply popping a daily multivitamin to stave off or address 192 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:14.200 unknown vitamin deficiencies is not a good idea, he cautions, 193 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:17.120 since it doesn't allow people to know if they truly 194 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:21.960 have deficiencies, and if they do, multivitamins may not have 195 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.960 the appropriate level of supplements to treat an individual's specific need. 196 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.759 The key pillar of connecting with other people to expand 197 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:33.120 your health span sounds easy, but it's something many tend 198 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:36.960 to neglect. This can cause issues over time because people's 199 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:40.879 friend circles naturally tend to shrink as they age. Even 200 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:43.639 if you retenely interact with at least one person you 201 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:47.960 live with like a spouse. Other social relationships and experiences 202 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.240 remain important in old age because they can offset loneliness 203 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:56.000 and keep you mentally sharp for a sum that may 204 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:59.440 still require working on yourself first. If you struggle with 205 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:04.039 interpersonal relationships, Caterbine says you can focus on inner peace 206 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.320 and wellness, such as meditation and mindfulness practices, which you 207 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:12.039 should still try to make friends because the benefits often 208 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:16.320 compound in other healthy ways. Once you get started, joining 209 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.440 a group focused on in activity you already enjoy walking, 210 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:22.399 for instance, can make you healthier, according to the National 211 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:27.480 Institute on Aging. Unsurprisingly, the benefits are myriad for mental 212 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:31.080 and physical health, and may include lowering risks of dementia, 213 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:33.919 heart disease, and stroke. Being out in the world. The 214 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:36.879 benefits just walking a dog has also been shown to 215 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:42.519 provide exercise and broost your overall happiness. Helping in the community, tutoring, 216 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.679 or other meaningful pursuits that keep our brains active and 217 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:50.720 involve social interactions can be personally fulfilling, and their linked 218 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:54.399 to improved memory and reduce stress. It turns out that 219 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:57.240 the secret to living a long, healthy life is also 220 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.240 the secret to living a good one. Next The Mystery 221 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:06.480 of the Rings by Veronique Greenwood. When hundreds of eerily 222 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.399 perfect circles were discovered on the ocean floor, theories abounded 223 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:13.840 about what they could mean. Four years of underwater research 224 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.000 revealed a lost world. On a bright, hot day in 225 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:22.679 mid September twenty eleventh, a marine biologist named Christine pegant 226 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:26.000 Martini was hunkered down inside the cabin of a small 227 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:30.399 research vessel, a ninety seven foot long catamaran, cruising through 228 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:33.919 the Mediterranean Sea about twelve miles off the coast of Corsica. 229 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.399 Outside the ship's windows, the sun glinted off the dark 230 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:41.240 blue water, but pegant Martini ignored the waves. She was 231 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.519 more interested in what lay beneath them. A monitor in 232 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.039 front of her displayed images from the vessel's on board 233 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.519 sonar system, which was omitting a series of short acoustic 234 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:55.120 pulses to reveal the underwater topography about four hundred feet below. 235 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.159 The ocean scientist was nearing the last day of a 236 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:01.559 month long mission with a small all crew, including her husband, 237 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:06.240 oceanographer Gerrard Peargent, and a graduate student from the University 238 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:12.039 of Corsica, Pascual Pioli. Hergent Martini had been mapping the 239 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.320 seafloor in this region. The seemingly simple goal actually targeted 240 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.799 one of oceanography's major blind spots. The Mediterranean Sea covers 241 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.720 about a million square miles, stretching from the Strait of 242 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:27.559 Gibraltar in the west to Lebanon in the east. While 243 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.720 its surface has been traversed since ancient times by everything 244 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:35.320 from Greek trirems to Etruscan warships, its depth are mysterious 245 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.320 to modern science. Much of its sea floor exists in 246 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.360 something of a liminal zone, too shallow and close to 247 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:45.000 the shore to draw interest from deep sea mining companies, 248 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.039 but still too deep to be reachable by conventional scuba divers. 249 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:53.080 Hergent Martini and her colleagues wanted to learn more about 250 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.240 what lived on the bottom at these depths. At first, 251 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:58.600 the day was no different from any other. As the 252 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:01.519 boat moved across the water, the scientists watched a series 253 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:06.519 of predictable, grainy, black and white images appear on screen. Sand, 254 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:10.319 small rocks, more sand. It was all stuff they'd seen before. 255 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.880 But then something truly bizarre scrolled into view. A perfect circle, 256 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:19.240 then another, then another. They were all about the same size, 257 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:23.119 around sixty seven feet in diameter, with a distinct outline 258 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:27.000 in striking symmetry. Weirder still, almost every ring had a 259 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:30.920 dark spot directly in the center. They looked like fried eggs, 260 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.680 per Gent Martini thought, and there appeared to be several 261 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:38.160 dozen of them. The scientists looked at each other. We 262 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:41.279 had no idea what it was, Pergent Martini says. Her 263 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:48.519 team carefully logged their location and used a remotely operated 264 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:52.440 vehicle to gather images. Still, the mystery only deepened. They 265 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.039 captured video footage of the circles, but the view was 266 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:57.960 too murky to confirm much more than the fact that 267 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:01.680 this wasn't sunk in cargo. When the researchers presented their 268 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:05.000 findings at a twenty thirteen scientific meeting, they were still 269 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.480 in search of answers about the nature of the rings. 270 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:10.319 Even a follow up study with a submarine in twenty 271 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:14.759 fourteen didn't answer all their questions. In time, researchers would 272 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.720 count more than thirteen hundred of these circles over a 273 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:23.279 nearly square six square mile area. After years of applying 274 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:26.279 for grants to study the rings more closely, the parshens 275 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.279 reached a dead end. It was very difficult to obtain money. 276 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:33.440 Piergant Martini said, the presents are specialists in seagrass meadows 277 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.160 and this was a bit outside their focus. We had 278 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:38.680 no way to go farther than just the right person 279 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.880 got in touch. In the world of under sea exploration, 280 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:46.200 Lorent Bellesta is known for going to extremes. A photographer, 281 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:52.000 marine biologists, and technical diver, he co runs and Ramday Oceanalogi, 282 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.599 a company that leads scientific missions to document some of 283 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:00.279 the world's most inaccessible places. These undertakings often reach choir, 284 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:05.200 specialized equipment and elaborate dive plans. In Antarctica, for instance, 285 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:08.680 he once used a bespoke system of cables to photograph 286 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:11.920 the underside of an iceberg. In South Africa. He has 287 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:18.480 explored deep underwater caves to capture images of rare cologuts, 288 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:21.319 which were thought to be extinct for millions of years 289 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:26.480 before small fragile populations were rediscovered, and in French Polynesia, 290 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:31.079 he's used to customized customize rebreather system to stay underwater 291 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.839 for twenty four hours of a time to observe the 292 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.799 hunting habits of gray reef sharks. As chronicled in a 293 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.880 twenty eighteen story for National Geographic, Blesta and his team 294 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.279 are always on the hunt for their next target. He 295 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:47.839 also had a connection to the pear gents. He'd studied 296 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:50.839 under them while working towards his master's degree, so when 297 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:54.359 he read his former teacher's scientific paper about the mysterious 298 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:59.519 pock marked sonar scans, he was riveted. Some organisms have 299 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:03.319 been known to to grow in circular formations corals make atolls, 300 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:07.240 for example, but these rings repeated with an eerie regularity. 301 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:10.960 How is this possible? He remembers, thinking perhaps they were 302 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:16.240 craters caused by erupting underwater vents or a strange geological formation. 303 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.440 Pergent Martini and her husband had a different hunch. Based 304 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:25.079 on their submersible explorations. They believed the rings were coraline algae, 305 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:29.680 algae growing in a previously unknown shape. Another theory put 306 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:32.720 forth by some scientists was that they were craters left 307 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:36.480 by unused World War Two bombs jettisoned by US plains 308 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:40.400 returning to their bases on Corsica. With the Peargent's approval, 309 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:43.319 Bollesta decided to pick up where they'd left off in 310 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:46.559 hopes of solving the mystery, using their data to locate 311 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:50.119 the rings. In July twenty twenty, Billesta and two other 312 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:57.160 divers from Andromeday Oceanalogy arrived above the rings in their 313 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.880 own research vessel and donned scuba gear to descend into 314 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:03.799 the abyss. While they quickly sank to the bottom, they 315 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.160 stayed there only about thirty minutes because they had to 316 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:09.640 account for at least several hours of decompression time on 317 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.960 the way back to the surface. Equipped with a waterproof 318 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.000 camera and lights, the team swam down through the bright 319 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.799 upper waters of the ocean, the daylight gradually dimming to twilight. 320 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:24.599 In less than two minutes, they were approaching their destination, 321 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.880 nearly four hundred feet below the waves. I stopped before 322 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.359 I reached the bottom some twenty or thirty meters up, 323 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.759 says Bullesta, because I saw the rings. They loomed out 324 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:38.640 of the darkness, alien enormous. They'd resembled gigantic platters etched 325 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:42.480 onto the seafloor. After he snapped some photos, Bilesta dived 326 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:45.440 to the bottom and approached one ring. At its center 327 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:53.079 was a large knob made by redc Calcarrius algae, measuring 328 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:56.400 around three feet high and several feet across, with swaying 329 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.759 fanlike growths atop it. The knob was surrounded by a 330 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.079 fast wasteland of pale, scream like debris, and slightly downhill. 331 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:07.480 About thirty feet beyond the center was the dark outer ring, 332 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:10.599 a circular perimeter that appeared to be made up of 333 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:15.960 rodoliths a collection of craggy, firm, pebble sized algae. Looking 334 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:18.680 at the structure, Bilester realized that the Parsians were right. 335 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:22.160 It was alive, he says. After twenty minutes on the bottom, 336 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:25.960 Bilesta and his crew spent nearly five hours gradually rising 337 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.640 to decompress safely, allowing their bodies to equalize to the 338 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:32.559 shifting pressure. Long before he got back to the boat, 339 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:36.240 Bilesta was convinced he had to return. I didn't need 340 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:38.920 twenty seven minutes, he says about his time on the seafloor. 341 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:42.519 After the first minute, I knew. Julie Deeter, a marine 342 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:44.759 ecologist who was waiting for the team back on the 343 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:47.640 ship deck, saw the excitement on their faces the moment 344 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.799 they surface. Usually, by the time divers complete their long, 345 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:54.039 monotonous ascent, the thrill has faded, but they were still 346 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:56.759 very marked by what they had seen. She says. There 347 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:00.079 was still no explanation for why the rhodoliths would have 348 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:03.960 formed such perfect circles so many times over. Bileesta decided 349 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:06.720 he needed to spend more time among the rings, which 350 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:09.960 would require a way to stay longer in the depths. 351 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:13.599 In July twenty twenty one, Bilesta returned to the waters 352 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:18.480 north of Corsica with three divers, Roberto Rinaldi, teboat Robi 353 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.960 and Antonine Guibert, and a bold plan that would give 354 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:26.039 them more time for exploration on the seafloor. They were 355 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:29.559 inspired by divers on oil rigs who can quickly travel 356 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:32.319 back and forth to the ocean bottom at the surface. 357 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:36.519 Those rig divers live in sealed, pressurized chambers that match 358 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:39.759 the conditions beneath the sea where the pressure can increase 359 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:42.920 by ten or more times. They can then rapidly ascend 360 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:46.400 and descend in a diving bell without having to slowly 361 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:49.519 adjust to the change in pressure inside their own chamber. 362 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:52.480 At the surface, Blesta and the others would live a 363 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.400 bit like astronauts. Food would be passed in through an 364 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.559 air lock. When they were ready to descend, they'd suit 365 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:01.720 up in sik squeeze into the diving bell that would 366 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:04.000 take them down to the sea bed. The team had 367 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:07.440 expected to spend three weeks exploring the rings and nearby reefs, 368 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:11.279 but the weather turned against them. Heavy wind and rays 369 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:15.440 rocked the boat, leaving the chamber dangerous on several occasions. 370 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:18.880 For multiple days, the four men were trapped, unable to 371 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:22.440 see out of their increasingly humid chamber, which barely held 372 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:26.359 their small beds in the dining table. Bilesta's voice turns 373 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:31.359 bitter as he recalls this period. Time for exploration was precious, 374 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:35.880 and they were spending it reading novels. Finally, the weather shifted, 375 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:39.200 offering them the chance to drop down through the elevator chamber. 376 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:43.640 We found ourselves in another universe, says Guibert. This time 377 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:46.640 the crew could spend hours exploring it all around. The 378 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.039 divers marveled at the abundance of life. As they made 379 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:54.039 more dives when weather conditions allowed. They found rarely seen 380 00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:58.240 yellow corals in the deep canyons. There were also squat 381 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:03.240 lobsters and colorful small fish hiding among pale, pink gorgonians, 382 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:06.200 the sort of fan like soft corals that are usually 383 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:11.119 seen in deep Mediterranean canyons. At one point, Blest spotted 384 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:14.319 a blue sea slug wandering about and took a photo. 385 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.839 It was the first still photograph taken of this species 386 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:21.920 by a diver. Bilesta invited the Parshents to monitor their 387 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:25.119 progress aboard this support ship. They looked very happy and 388 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:28.400 touched that their discovery made this project happen, he says, 389 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:31.720 because of the Pargans work, He and his colleagues were 390 00:25:31.720 --> 00:25:36.200 exploring a christine and unusual ecosystem. But Bilesta knew this 391 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:40.079 little universe was in a precarious position. It existed under 392 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:44.799 shipping lanes and commercial ships. Dropping anchor could pulverize everything. 393 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:48.400 Anchors can destroy all the rings very easily. Billsta says 394 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.920 the threat fueled a sense of urgency. The more they 395 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:54.720 could learn about the rings, the better chance Bilesta might 396 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:59.200 have of getting French authorities to protect them. Bilesta and 397 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:01.720 his team made a total of six descents from their 398 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:05.079 pressurized chamber to the rings. They focused their attention on 399 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:08.799 drilling cores of the rings central knobs, which were then 400 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:12.559 sent for carbon dating analysis. The hope was that knowing 401 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:15.640