The Book of Genesis states that before the Flood, people lived for several centuries. This has led researchers interested in creation to examine the environmental conditions that may have existed on Earth at the time, as these factors seem to have influenced human longevity. A recent study sheds new light on this fascinating question.
A confirmed hypothesis
Some researchers have proposed that before the Flood, Earth’s atmosphere may have contained higher levels of oxygen and greater atmospheric pressure than it does today. A recent study conducted by Tel Aviv University and Shamir Medical Center in Israel offers evidence supporting this hypothesis. The findings indicate that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can slow down and even reverse the ageing process in the blood cells of healthy adults.1,2
The study focused on two key aspects of ageing, the first of which is telomere length. Telomeres are structures found at the ends of chromosomes that help maintain their stability and interact with various cellular processes. As the body ages, telomeres naturally shorten. The second aspect examined was cellular senescence, a state in which cells stop dividing and no longer respond to signals that promote growth.
Daily sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy have been shown to restore and even extend the length of telomeres, demonstrating a regenerative effect at the cellular level.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves placing a patient in a large chamber where they are exposed to pure oxygen at increased pressure. The elevated atmospheric pressure enhances the amount of oxygen dissolved in the body’s tissues and allows it to penetrate deeper, even reaching completely ischemic areas, such as those affected by stroke.
The aim of the study was to assess whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy influences telomere length and cellular senescence in healthy ageing individuals.
Thirty participants underwent a programme of daily hyperbaric oxygen therapy over a specified period. The study revealed that this treatment could extend telomere length by more than 20 percent in ageing individuals. Among the different cell types analysed, the most notable changes were identified in B lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. The therapy also resulted in a reduction in the number of senescent cells by between 10 and 37 percent, with the greatest effect observed in helper T lymphocytes, another category of white blood cell.4
By comparison, lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, and supplements targeting cellular metabolism and oxidative stress appear to have only a minimal effect on telomere length, typically in the range of 2–5%.1
The pre-flood world: Radically different from our own
Earth’s fossil record indicates that the pre-Flood world was far more diverse and lush than today, allowing many organisms to grow to extraordinary sizes. Fossilised remains provide striking examples, such as dragonflies with wingspans exceeding half a metre.3 The diffusion of oxygen through an insect’s body determines its maximum possible size under current atmospheric conditions.4 For this reason, even secular scientists who do not accept the biblical account propose that oxygen levels in the ancient world must have been significantly higher.
Findings from hyperbaric oxygen therapy, along with fossil evidence, suggest that the remarkable longevity of pre-Flood humans, such as Methuselah, who lived for 969 years, was entirely plausible. The atmospheric conditions of the pre-Flood world, characterised by higher pressure and increased oxygen levels, would have promoted better health and longer lifespans.
Another crucial factor contributing to human longevity before the Flood was the unmutated state of the human genome. It is unsurprising, therefore, that the Bible records a gradual decline in human lifespan in the generations that followed.5
By the way, we recommend reading the articles:
- Environmental Protection: A Biblical Perspective
- The Relationship Between Theistic Evolutionism and Death
- Natural Selection – Truth or Fiction?
- Why Were Extinct Trees the Most Complex?
- Panpsychism and the Origin of Human Consciousness
Footnotes
- Hachmo, Y. et al. 2020. ‘Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Increases Telomere Length and Decreases Immunosenescence in Isolated Blood Cells: A Prospective Trial’, Aging. doi: 10.18632/aging.202188.
- American Friends of Tel Aviv University. 2020. ‘Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment: Clinical Trial Reverses Two Biological Processes Associated with Aging in Human Cells’, ScienceDaily, 20 November.
- André, N. et al. 2018. ‘Palaeozoic Giant Dragonflies Were Hawker Predators’, Scientific Reports, 8(1), p. 12141. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30629-w.
- Cannell, A. E. R. 2018. ‘The Engineering of the Giant Dragonflies of the Permian: Revised Body Mass, Power, Air Supply, Thermoregulation and the Role of Air Density’, Journal of Experimental Biology, 221(19). doi:10.1242/jeb.185405.
- Tomkins, J. T. 2014. ‘Genetic Entropy Points to a Young Creation’, Acts & Facts, 43(11), p. 16.
Based on: J. P. Tomkins, ‘Hyperbaric research and the pre-flood atmosphere’, published on icr.org, December 28, 2020.
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