Pneumatic Systems
We can live weeks without food and days without water, but we will die within minutes without air. In this story, we learn how each breath powers the body and cradles the soul.
In the previous story, Our Cell Machinery, we learned a shocking statistic: none of our genes evolved to use oxygen. Instead, we feed all the oxygen we breathe to thousands of mitochondria who live inside each of our cells. Mitochondria have their own DNA that uses oxygen to produce a molecule called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). ATP is actually the molecule that powers all our protein micro machines.
Out of three billion letters in the human genome, exactly none of them need oxygen to work. This is one of many reasons why the Theory of Darwinian Evolution doesn’t make much sense anymore. If we “co-evolved” alongside our mitochondria in the presence of oxygen for millions of years, shouldn’t we find at least find one human gene that utilizes oxygen instead of ATP?
Zero.
For millions of years.
While I’m ranting, all the fossils that supposedly provide evidence for Darwinian Evolution also have zero signs of decay for all those millions of years. Every little wing on every little insect is intact…
…just like the delicate little fins on every fish.
So all those animals were buried alive.
They were either buried alive all-at-once by global tectonic failure, or they were buried alive slowly one-by-one over millions of years. The reason I believe the fossil record was buried alive all-at-once is because the universe would have to magically pause the decay of each animal while it was slowly entombed in “thousands of years” of sedimentary rock. The Earth supposedly needs 10,000 years to make 1 foot of sedimentary rock, so how many years would it take to bury an entire dinosaur? 100,000 years?
Some dinosaur carcasses still have red blood cells, soft tissues, and skin on their bones—so there’s no way they died millions of years ago. Red blood cells don’t last that long. If you want to see the fossil record for yourself, check out all the YouTube videos in Here Be Dragons.
It’s not just me, lots of modern scientists are abandoning Darwinism now that we can trace our DNA.
If you want to learn more, check out this 2022 research paper, Neo-Darwinism Must Mutate to Survive, and this 2023 paper, Biological evolution requires an emergent, self-organizing principle. Here is a podcast discussion with the authors on Evolution News.
Biological Bellows
Let’s get back to why we need oxygen. If biology isn’t your thing, feel free to skip down to the next section.
The human body has 37 trillion cells and each cell has around 1,000 mitochondria to power all its protein motors. So we need a shocking amount of fresh oxygen to feed 37 quadrillion mitochondria each day. Check out this quote from Discovery Health.
The average adult, when resting, inhales and exhales about 7 or 8 liters of air per minute. That totals about 11,000 liters of air per day. Inhaled air is about 20-percent oxygen. Exhaled air is about 15-percent oxygen. Therefore, about 5-percent of breathed air is consumed in each breath. That air is converted to carbon dioxide. So, as far as how much air is actually used, human beings take in about 550 liters of pure oxygen per day.
11,000 liters of air per day is a lot. For scale, here’s what 10,000 liters looks like:
To get that much air in and out of our relatively small bodies each day, our Respiratory System uses a clever strategy in computer science called Divide and Conquer. When air travels down the Trachea (wind pipe), it is divided in half, splitting the volume of air equally between two Lungs. Once the air is inside each lung, it is divided in half again and again and again (approximately 28 times) until the air reaches tiny little sacs called Alveoli.
Each alveolus only holds 0.2 milliliters of air, but there are 300 million of them. There are so many alveoli in our lungs that they create more than 100 square meters of surface area. That about 1,100 square feet, which is the same size as an average home in Germany. 🫁🏠
All that surface area comes with a lot of risks. Our lungs are directly exposed to the outside world, so we breathe in a lot more than just oxygen. We also inhale pollen, dust, bacteria, and viruses, so our Respiratory System comes with two separate air filters to protect us from these foreign invaders. 🦠
The first air filter is the Nose, which is why we should all avoid mouth-breathing as much as possible. The nose works just like the air filter on a car—large particles get filtered out before they enter the engine. Boogers are basically all the large particles our bodies don’t want in our lungs. We can easily clean this filter by reversing the airflow (sneezing or blowing our nose).
The second filter is much more difficult to clean because it covers the 100 square meters of surface area inside our lungs. Just imagine trying to replace the air filter at your house, if the intake vent was as big as your entire house. 🫁🏠
To filter all that air, alveoli have several layers. The outermost cells form the Alveolar Epithelium, which is a super thin lipid membrane that acts like an airwall. These cells are very similar to skin cells, but the only molecules allowed to pass through them are oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Along the airwall are Type II Alveolar Epithelial cells, which secrete a water-based solution called Pulmonary Surfactant. So each alveolus is covered in soapy water that is continuously disinfected by our immune system. This is why we inadvertently add humidity to the air we breathe. When we exhale hot air in the winter, the little cloud that forms is the water that came from our lungs.
The Respiratory System is very energy efficient because our Cardiovascular System routes itself in and around each alveolus.
When blood is pumped from the right half of the heart into our lungs, it is loaded with carbon dioxide waste from all our mitochondria. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood is higher than the external air, so some of those molecules naturally diffuse across the airwall to reach equilibrium—sort of like equalizing pressure inside a balloon. How many molecules diffuse across the membrane is a function of total surface area, so that’s why we need 300 million alveoli. 🫁🏠
The air exchange works the other way too. The concentration of oxygen in the air is higher than our deoxygenated blood, so approximately 25% of the oxygen molecules in the air naturally diffuse across the airwall to reach equilibrium with our blood. This oxygen enriched blood is returned to the left half of the heart, which pumps it out to the rest of the body.
If you want to see our biology in action, check out this fascinating dissection of a human lung (oddly set to electronic dance music). (2 mins)
Breath Care Is Health Care
Breathing doesn’t require any mental effort, so it’s easy to overlook its impact on our health. That’s the subject of a wonderful book by James Nestor called, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.
When I first started reading Breath, I couldn’t imagine someone writing an entire book about a breath. But by the time I finished, I wished this book was part one of a trilogy.
Breath will teach you that breathing is not only critical to our survival—it’s also critical to our posture and skeletal development. Native Americans and other prehistoric people groups have known this for millennia, which is why none of the cavemen in the fossil record needed orthodontic braces or their wisdom teeth removed. 🦷
That claim may sound ridiculous, but it was well documented by George Catlin, who visited more than 150 Native American tribes across North, Central, and South America between 1830 and 1860.
Catlin noted the tribes with no Western influence also had zero infant mortality, no deformities in their children, and no child deaths from disease. Records of mortality in Europe during that time show one in four children died at birth and only one in four survived beyond 25 years of age. According to Catlin, the only difference between these two outcomes was the practice of Native American moms closing the mouths of their infant babies while they slept. 🤐🛌
That’s how important it is for you to use the filter inside your nose. It will improve your posture, improve your teeth, improve the shape of your face, and improve your health. You can learn more in Catlin’s book, Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life: Discover the Power of Your Breath.
The more clean oxygen we get inside our bodies, the healthier we become. This is why most longevity protocols include Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). HBOT uses a portable compression chamber to artificially increase the atmospheric pressure around us. The increased pressure forces 99% pure oxygen deep into our capillaries, which supercharges all our cellular activity, including our immune systems. Personally, I prefer to write during my HBOT sessions because I feel smarter when my brain is “oxygen drunk”. 🥴
@ChatGPT: How is breathing related to health?
ChatGPT: Breathing is intimately related to health in several critical ways, as discussed in James Nestor’s “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” and supported by various scientific studies:
1. Oxygen Supply and Carbon Dioxide Removal: Breathing ensures that oxygen reaches the cells and tissues of the body while removing carbon dioxide, a waste product. Proper oxygenation is essential for cellular metabolism and overall bodily function. Inadequate breathing can lead to hypoxia (low oxygen levels) and hypercapnia (high carbon dioxide levels), both of which can impair organ function .
2. Nervous System Regulation: Breathing patterns influence the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary body functions. Slow, deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing stress. Conversely, rapid, shallow breathing can activate the sympathetic nervous system, leading to increased stress and anxiety levels .
3. Cardiovascular Health: Proper breathing can lower heart rate and blood pressure, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Techniques such as slow breathing have been shown to improve heart rate variability, an indicator of cardiovascular health and resilience to stress .
4. Mental Health: Breathing exercises can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. Practices like mindfulness breathing and diaphragmatic breathing have been found to improve mood and cognitive function by regulating the levels of stress hormones and enhancing brain function .
5. Respiratory Function: Breathing exercises can improve lung capacity and efficiency. Techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing and pursed-lip breathing help in conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by strengthening respiratory muscles and improving airflow .
6. Sleep Quality: Proper breathing is crucial for good sleep. Techniques that promote nasal breathing over mouth breathing can prevent sleep apnea and improve sleep quality by ensuring consistent airflow and reducing interruptions during sleep .
7. Metabolic Function: Breathing influences metabolic processes, including the regulation of weight. Efficient breathing helps in the expulsion of carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of fat metabolism. This process aids in maintaining a healthy weight .
8. Inflammation and Immune Response: Certain breathing techniques can reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. Practices like the Wim Hof Method, which involves specific breathing exercises and cold exposure, have been shown to modulate immune response and decrease inflammatory markers in the body .
Overall, breathing is a vital function that affects nearly every aspect of health. By understanding and improving how we breathe, we can enhance our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Breathing even coordinates the quantum computation in our brains.
We need to take control of our breath to take control of our health. Literally. This is why Navy Seals and other special forces use Combat Tactical Breathing, or “box breathing”, to manage stress and anxiety on the battlefield. Box breathing is a very simple breath cycle:
Inhale for four counts
Hold for four counts
Exhale for four counts
Hold for four counts
Navy seals also use “4-7-8 breathing” to go to sleep. That’s an inhale for four counts, hold for 7 counts, and then exhale for 8 counts. You can instantly take control of your mood anytime you want with a 4-7-8 breath.
Controlled breathing is much easier with a guide, so I highly recommend you try a breath workout. If you aren’t familiar with Pranayama yoga, you will be shocked by the laziness of your lungs. You know that “soft palate” at the back of your throat? This lady will show you just how soft it really is. (6 mins)
For a more advanced workout, try this one from The School of Breath. (14 mins)
If that’s too weird for you, try this breath workout with Wim Hof. He is a European adventurer and all-around badass who rediscovered what Eastern mystics have known for millennia. Don’t worry if you feel stupid, just wait and see how you feel after you do it. (11 mins)
Also check out 5 Ways to Improve Your Breathing by James Nestor. (11 mins)
Spirit-ual Connections
Throughout this book, we have discussed various intersections of science and religion, but the breath might be the single most important intersection of science and religion there is. The breath is integral to pretty much every religious and mystic tradition on Earth, past and present, which is why this is the last story before Chapter 7: Religions.
@ChatGPT: What are the eastern mystic traditions that focus on breath?
ChatGPT: Several Eastern mystic traditions emphasize the importance of breath in their practices. Key traditions include:
1. Yoga: In Hinduism, particularly in Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga, breath control (pranayama) is a central practice aimed at regulating life energy (prana) and achieving mental clarity and spiritual progress.
2. Buddhism: Many forms of Buddhist meditation, especially in Zen and Vipassana traditions, focus on mindful breathing to cultivate awareness and concentration.
3. Taoism: In Taoist practices, breath control and techniques such as “Qigong” are used to cultivate and balance the body’s vital energy (qi).
4. Sufism: Some Sufi practices in Islam include breathing techniques as part of their meditative and devotional exercises to attain spiritual purification and connection with the divine.
5. Traditional Chinese Medicine: Practices like Tai Chi and Qigong integrate breath control with physical movements to promote health and spiritual harmony.
These traditions use breath as a means to enhance physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual development.
I practice Yoga and Qigong every single day. If you are a Westerner, don’t be afraid to try them. They are simple calisthenics with highly controlled breathing. That’s not to woo-woo for you. The goal isn’t strength, it’s elegance and range of motion. The elegance comes from training our tiny core “balance muscles” that we can’t train any other way.
Our breath is just as important in the Abrahamic faiths. In the Quran, Allah brings Adam to life with a breath. 🌬️
Quran 15:29 “So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him (Adam) the soul which I created for him, then fall down prostrating yourselves unto him".
In the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh brings Adam to life with a breath. 🌬️
Genesis 2: 7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
I’m sure James Nestor and George Catlin would want me to point out that God breathed into Adam’s nose to jumpstart his heart. So even God doesn’t want any mouthbreathers.
The breath is an integral part of the New Testament as well. For example, the English word spirit comes from the Latin word spirare, which means “to breathe”.
A spiritus is basically a living breath. That might be the best way to describe the beings from higher dimensions that don’t have fully physical bodies—like angels, aliens, or entities (depending on your religion). Here are some other modern English words related to our breath:
inspire - to breathe into
perspire - to use breath
respiration - breathing
respiratory - related to breath
respire - to breathe
conspire - to share breath with another
expire - to lose breath
aspire - where you want your breath to take you
transpire - what happened while breathing
Another good example in the New Testament is soul. Whenever you see the word soul in an English Bible, the original Greek word written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul was psyche. We think of psyche as relating to the mind, but psyche actually means “BREATH”. Our breath is our soul.
No matter which religion you follow, your breath is your connection between this world and whatever higher dimensions are outside our purview. When your body gives up your breath, it immediately gives up your soul based on the millions of people who clinically died and came back to life. You can watch 25 of my favorite near death experience interviews in the story, Earth School. That’s what they call this lifetime.
Organization by Design
Throughout this chapter, we have explored our own biology for signs of Intelligent Design. Did you find any?
In Human Source Code, we explored the 750 megabytes of data inside our DNA. Our DNA is stored on chromosome “tape drives” with histone spools that haven’t mutated one single letter across all life forms in 1,000 million years. ✔️
The software inside our chromosomes is so abstract and modular that scientists can replace the Hox gene that means “make a head” in a fruit fly larvae with the Hox gene from a human and still produce normal fruit flies. Modular code is the hallmark of great software design. ✔️
In The Fountain of Youth, we learned 98% of the atoms in our bodies are less than 12 months old because our DNA is designed to regenerate forever. So our software ages, but our hardware does not. ✔️
Our DNA reprograms itself throughout our lifetimes to better fit us into our environments starting in embryos as young as 5 days old. Mutagenesis and natural selection isn’t just happening between generations, it happens within your body every single day through programmed cell death. ✔️
In Our Cell Machinery, we learned how our DNA software manufactures protein micro machines. Does this thing look “organic” to you?
We also learned how each of our cells have all the components we expect to see in modern computers: microprocessor, system bus, partitions, modem, recycle bin, UEFI, long term data storage, and power supply units. ✔️
In Fiber Optic Carbon Fibers, we learned about our fascia, which is made from triple-weave braided carbon fiber threads that conduct light, heat, sound, force, and electricity. ✔️
If you haven’t found any signs of intelligent design in these five stories, then I don’t know what else to tell you.
When we look for intelligent design within any system, we are looking for the opposite of entropy—the opposite of chaos. Entropy is the law of physics that states a closed system will become more disordered over time. So organization is the opposite of entropy.
Organization is exactly what we see when we look at the human “machina”. We see organization at the molecular level of our genetics. We see organization at the cellular level of our biology. We even see organization in at the macro level of our anatomy.
Our DNA software instructs our cells to specialize into dedicated organs that chain together to make complex systems. These complex systems intersect each other all over the body to make a system of systems. Here are the 12 systems of the human machina:
Integumentary system: Includes the skin, hair, nails, and sweat glands, and helps protect the body from external damage and regulate body temperature.
Skeletal system: Composed of bones, cartilage, and ligaments, and provides support, protection, and movement for the body.
Muscular system: Includes skeletal muscles, smooth muscles, and cardiac muscle, and is responsible for movement, posture, and heat production.
Nervous system: Composed of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, and controls and coordinates the body's responses to internal and external stimuli.
Endocrine system: Includes glands such as the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands, and produces hormones that regulate various bodily functions.
Cardiovascular system: Composed of the heart and blood vessels, and transports oxygen, nutrients, and waste products throughout the body.
Lymphatic system: Includes lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, and lymphoid organs, and helps defend the body against infections and diseases.
Respiratory system: Composed of the lungs, trachea, and bronchial tubes, and is responsible for the exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) between the body and the environment.
Digestive system: Includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, and pancreas, and is responsible for the breakdown and absorption of nutrients from food.
Urinary system: Composed of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, and is responsible for the elimination of waste products from the body.
Reproductive system: Includes the gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females), as well as other organs such as the uterus, vagina, and penis, and is responsible for the production of gametes (sperm and eggs) and the perpetuation of the species.
Immune system: A network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against infections and other harmful agents. Some sources include the immune system as a separate system, while others consider it a part of the lymphatic system.
Our breath powers 79 organs across 12 physical, chemical, and electrical systems that are light years ahead of our best technology in all of those domains. If that’s not an intelligent design, then I don’t know what is. ✌️
Continue reading…
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