French human isolation study ending after 40 days


PTI, Apr 24, 2021, 2:09 PM IST

Lombrives: Ever wonder what it would feel like to unplug from a hyperconnected world and hide away in a cave for a few weeks? Fifteen people in France found out.

After 40 days in voluntary isolation in a dark, damp and vast cave, eight men and seven women who took part in a scientific experiment are expected to emerge Saturday from their self-segregation in the Pyrenees.

The group lived in the depths of the Lombrives cave without a sense of time. There were no clocks and no sunlight inside the cave, where the temperature was 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) and the relative humidity stood at 100%.

The cave dwellers had no contact with the outside world, no updates on the pandemic or any communication with friends and family above ground.

For 40 days and 40 nights, they had each other and the grand echoing cave to explore.

Now, creatures of darkness, the cave dwellers will have to wear special glasses to protect their eyes when they come out into the light of day.

Scientists at the Human Adaption Institute leading the 1.2 million-euro ($1.5 million) “Deep Time” project say the experiment will help them better understand how people adapt to drastic changes in living conditions and environments, something much of the world can relate to because of COVID-19 pandemic.

In partnership with labs in France and Switzerland, scientists monitored the 15-member group’s sleep patterns, social interactions and behavioural reactions via sensors.

One of the sensors was a tiny thermometer inside a capsule that participants swallowed like a pill. The capsules measure body temperature and transmit data to a portable computer until they are expelled naturally.

The team members followed their biological clocks to know when to wake up, go to sleep and eat. They counted their days not in hours but in sleep cycles.

On Friday, scientists monitoring the participants entered the cave for the first time since the experiment started. They said many of the people in the research group miscalculated how long they had been in the cave and thought they had another week to 10 days to go.

“It’s really interesting to observe how this group synchronises themselves,” project director Christian Clot said in a recording done from inside the cave.

Working together on projects and organising tasks without being able to set a time to meet was especially challenging, he said.

Although the participants looked visibly tired, two-thirds of them expressed a desire to remain underground a bit longer in order to finish group projects started during the expedition, Benoit Mauvieux, a chronobiologist involved in the research, said.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Women voters outnumber men in all 5 Assam LS seats where voting is underway

Bangalore never had woman MP & Cong’s Sowmya Reddy wants to make history

Gadag: 4 of a family brutally murdered by home intruders

LS polls phase 1: Voting underway in 102 seats, leaders urge people to turn up in large numbers

Fight to protect our Constitution and democracy begins today Kharge on LS polls

B’luru: Mother of woman stabbed to death kills daughter’s murderer

Congress Corporator’s daughter stabbed to death inside college campus in Hubballi

Related Articles More

Surgical options for Parkinson’s disease

Breast cancer to cause a million deaths a year by 2040: Lancet commission

Will to resist temptations, achieve goals more trustworthy than using apps, study finds

Govt directs e-commerce firms to remove drinks, beverages from ‘health drinks’ category

Experiencing abuse, neglect as child linked to lifelong ill-health: Study

MUST WATCH

Grafting Jack Anil

Heat Illness

Dwarakish death at 81

H. D. Deve Gowda

Aura Cake shop in udupi


Latest Additions

Women voters outnumber men in all 5 Assam LS seats where voting is underway

Hubballi murder: Law and order in Karnataka heading towards Bihar, says Bommai

Udupi: Biker killed, pillion rider injured in fatal collision

CCPA asks FSSAI to probe claim of Nestle adding sugar to baby products

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Open ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’ in every corner by defeating hatred, Rahul tells voters

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.