Scientist marks record-breaking stay underwater for 100 days and ends up discovering a 'new species'

The Earth is designed beautifully with its intricacies on land, in the air, and even underwater. There is much to explore and learn. Similarly, one may have often posed the question of what it’s like to live underwater. The Independent reported that Dr. Joseph Dituri embarked on the mission to spend 100 days underwater in March 2023. While Dituri intended to experiment to test the effect on the human body, he managed to make quite a discovery while he was there. Living in a small room, a few days into his stay underwater, Dituri claimed to have found a single-cell organism that seemed to be a new species. 

“We found a single-cell ciliate, a single-celled organism that we believe is a brand new species to science,” Dituri said. He also mentioned that the species has been prevalent underwater for quite some time, but no one has been able to trace and notice the same. “People have dived in this area thousands and thousands of times – it’s been here, we just didn’t look,” he exclaimed. Apart from having a study to do on his body, Dituri was delighted to find the new species and see what could come from it on careful analysis. He also mentioned that it had always been a part of his experimental journey to see if he could make intriguing finds in the sea. Dituri continued his stay and successfully managed his 100-day venture, USA Today reports. 

Dituri shared his journey on his Instagram page (@drdeepsea), where he revealed the many changes he came across while still underwater. In a post, he shared glimpses of everything he had experienced throughout his trip and what a view it was! Right from exploring life to figuring out survival and everything, he sure made the most of his trip. In his caption, he said, “Some of my favorite photos from my 100-day underwater mission. There is meaning behind each picture … a moment, a memory, a connection.” In yet another post, he shared a video of him exploring the seas and wrote, “I went for a dive every single day during my 100-day mission — if only it was as easy to do while living on land!” While on a mission, Dituri also engaged with students and others to share as much knowledge as he could.

In another series of posts, he reflected on the journey with these students during his 100 days underwater. With fun, learning, unlearning, and more, Dituri was truly able to mark the adventure of a lifetime. “SCUBA + STEM = Scientific Diving. Groundbreaking experiments here,” he wrote. Completing his streak of 100 days, Dituri returned with many insights and learnings to share with the world. In one of his later posts, he shared a summary of his trip with images. In the caption, he wrote, “To explore anything new always results in personal and professional discoveries. This experience has changed me in important ways, and my greatest hope is that I have inspired a new generation of explorers and researchers to push past all boundaries.”

You can follow Dr. Joseph Dituri (@drdeepsea) on Instagram to learn more about sea exploration.