00:00These people can spend more than 5 hours a day under water and must represent what is closest to real mermaids.
00:07Let me introduce you to the Bajos of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
00:12This ethnic group has developed an extraordinary mutation that allows it to live in water almost continuously.
00:18Nicknamed the sea nomads, they have lived along the coasts of the Sea of Sulu, in the Philippines, for nearly a millennium.
00:26It would seem that Wayana is competition.
00:29Look at their homes, they are built on piloti, and for a very good reason.
00:35These are the traditional Lhasa house boats, designed to access the water as frequently as possible.
00:41These small huts can accommodate a family of 5 people, but also sometimes a community of up to 30 members.
00:48Easy to build, these homes can be completed in just 3 weeks.
00:54This also allows the Bajos to move freely across the seas.
00:58And as they have lived in this aquatic environment for generations, thriving thanks to harpoon fishing and shell collecting,
01:06they have begun to develop mutations for the least unusual.
01:10You are probably thinking of overpowering lungs, but this is not the case.
01:14In reality, they have developed rats much larger than average, once and a half the normal size.
01:21Why is this important? Because the rat helps to store oxygenated red blood cells.
01:26Having a larger rat means having a natural diving bottle.
01:31This adaptation is similar to that observed in deep-sea seals, which also have large rats.
01:38Researchers have discovered that they have a particular gene, called PDE10A, which would be responsible for it.
01:45Bajos can hold their breath for about 10 minutes.
01:49For comparison, an ordinary human being can do it for 30 to 90 seconds.
01:55And the world record is 24 minutes and 37 seconds.
01:59Bajos also spend up to 60% of the day underwater.
02:03You won't have a hard time guessing what kind of diet they observe.
02:07Of course, they eat a variety of marine creatures, including lobsters, snails and sea cucumbers,
02:15recognized for their nutritional and even medicinal properties.
02:19They build their own boats, fish by means of ancestral methods,
02:23and exchange their surplus of fish with the inhabitants of the continent to obtain essential supplies.
02:29With this money, they buy manioc to prepare a traditional dish called cassava pangikayu.
02:35As they do not have a refrigerator, they have large quantities of fish to dry them in the sun.
02:42Thanks to this technique, the fish can be preserved for several weeks.
02:47The members of this tribe have not yet developed branches or scales,
02:51but they enjoy remarkable particularities underwater.
02:55When they hold their breath while diving, their body adopts a unique disposition
03:00that slows down their heart rate and makes their rats release more oxygen in their blood circulation.
03:07Usually, the Bajau use traditional glasses made of wood and leather belts.
03:14They also have incredible apnea skills, reaching depths of more than 70 meters.
03:21They begin to learn to swim from the age of 8, or even earlier.
03:25And at the same time, they learn to hunt and survive in general.
03:30The Bajau people also make their own sunscreen, called Borak Buas.
03:36Composed mainly of turmeric and rice powder,
03:39it is used by women to protect their skin from the sun's bite.
03:44This simple and economical method to preserve their beauty is particularly popular with single women,
03:50eager to please a possible spouse.
03:53But it's not that simple.
03:55In the 1950s, the Malaysian government placed the Bajau in a very precarious legal situation.
04:02After living for centuries as unrestricted nomads,
04:06they now have to navigate carefully between national borders and bureaucratic obstacles.
04:12This means that they are not completely apathetic,
04:15but they are also not officially recognized as citizens of the surrounding countries.
04:20Today, only a few hundred Bajau families live near Semporna, in Malaysia.
04:26However, it is becoming more and more difficult to preserve this lifestyle.
04:31Resources are becoming scarce and, recently, new restrictions have been imposed,
04:36notably on the cutting of trees used to repair their boats.
04:40These constraints are gradually pushing them towards a more sedentary existence,
04:43but uncertain, on the mainland.
04:46Forced to settle in places like Bango Bango, they find themselves without citizenship,
04:52which deprives them of formal rights to access employment or education.
04:56Modern life therefore imposes many challenges on them.
05:00Imagine perceiving millions of colors more than anyone else.
05:04This is precisely what tetrachromats are capable of doing.
05:08Tetrachromacy is a condition that makes a person have an additional type of cone at the back of the eye,
05:14which allows them to see a much wider range of colors.
05:17If an average person in good health sees about 10 million colors,
05:21a tetrachromat could see up to 100 million.
05:25Thus, this additional cone improves their ability to distinguish subtle nuances that others would not even notice.
05:32This mutation requires the presence of two X chromosomes,
05:36which means that it manifests mainly in women.
05:40And it is not an extreme rarity either.
05:43According to a study, about 12% of women would have this unique particularity,
05:47which represents a considerable number.
05:50Most tetrachromats do not even know that they have this unusual visual ability.
05:55They may not realize that they see, for example, more colors than an average person,
06:00which complicates their identification and their study.
06:03In addition, scientists, who see mostly only 10 million colors,
06:07have trouble designing suitable tests to detect this condition.
06:11However, they believe that with special training,
06:14tetrachromats could fully exploit the potential of their visual abilities.
06:19Just like X-Men deploying their hidden powers.
06:22Marfan syndrome is a genetic condition that affects the subjunctive tissues of the body,
06:27making them more elastic.
06:29This can lead to an unusual size,
06:31elongated limbs and often extreme flexibility.
06:34Some people exploit this particularity to make it an asset in their career.
06:39Javier Botet was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome at a very young age.
06:44He was able to take advantage of this condition to make a name for himself in the horror cinema industry.
06:50His ability to distort his body in a strange and disturbing way
06:55allowed him to take on roles in many films such as Mama, Conjuring 2, Sa and Slenderman.
07:03However, Marfan syndrome is a spectrum disorder.
07:08While some people affected can lead a relatively normal life,
07:12others have to face serious health problems.
07:16Sometimes, wouldn't you like to need less sleep to have more time for yourself?
07:21Some people are lucky.
07:23While most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night,
07:28some people can function perfectly with only 4 to 6 hours.
07:32This genetic mutation, identified in a gene called DEC2,
07:36affects many species, not just humans.
07:39For example, it has also been observed in mice and drosophiles.
07:44The DEC2 gene helps regulate circadian rhythms, our natural biological clock.
07:51This mutation influences the production of orexin,
07:54a hormone that plays a crucial role in the wake-up and sleep-wake cycle.
07:59It essentially allows to release hormones in the morning,
08:02rather than usually, and to reduce them before dawn.
08:06We identified this gene in a family of people who naturally sleep very little.
08:11This group went to bed at a regular time, between 11 o'clock in the evening and midnight,
08:16but woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning without difficulty.
08:19This is a very rare mutation.
08:22It may seem like a comic book universe,
08:25but it is possible for some to have a superhuman strength.
08:30It turns out that some fortuitous mutations can give a titanic power,
08:35without the need for intensive training.
08:38Two proteins present in our body, myostatin and activin A,
08:43are usually secreted by muscle cells to regulate excessive growth.
08:48In other words, these two proteins control the size and number of muscle cells,
08:53thus preventing you from developing a Schwarzenegger-worthy carcass without wanting to.
08:58But as you can imagine, some ended up reaching such a level.
09:03Individuals with this genetic peculiarity do not produce these proteins.
09:08Thus, without having to do sports, they naturally develop huge muscles
09:13that give them an exceptional strength.
09:16This is called muscle hypertrophy linked to myostatin.
09:20It seems a little dangerous, doesn't it?
09:22And indeed, it is.
09:25A superhuman strength can lead to problems such as muscle imbalances,
09:29heart problems and joint problems, among many others.
09:33So maybe sometimes, it's not so bad not to be Schwarzenegger.
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