Diver Bends

How in the world, could evolution do this? Don't think so!

The water pressure around a human diver increases as he goes into deeper water. As the pressure increases, his blood is able to hold more dissolved oxygen. Our blood also absorbs the nitrogen in the air around us. If a diver were to move toward the surface too quickly, the nitrogen would start to bubble out of his blood. These bubbles can block the flow of blood to muscles, organs, and even the brain, leading to death. This painful condition is called the bends.

Scientists have wondered why seals don't get the bends. Weddell seals dive to far greater depths than human divers would consider using even the best equipment. The fact that they are breaking every diving rule in the book means that almost every dive should lead to a fatal case of the bends.

To find the answer to this mystery, scientists outfitted four seals with scientific backpacks. These allowed scientists to record the seals' heart rates, sample blood, and record the depths of their dives. The deeper the seals went, the more nitrogen accumulated in their blood. Just before the nitrogen reached a dangerous point it leveled off. Scientists say that the tiny sacks in the lungs that absorb oxygen and nitrogen shut down. Then the seals' heart, liver, and blubber begin to absorb the nitrogen from the blood. The air exchange sacks in the lungs reactivate as the seal ascends to the surface.

Surely the amazing biology that allows the seal to make his living deep in the ocean could only have been designed by our Creator God.



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Tom Savoca

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