Low Platelet Count and Diving

Before you dive, you and your doctor should consider some possible effects of having a low platelet count. In some cases, it may affect the body’s ability to clot properly in response to injury.

Hand holding blood sample in vacuum tube for hematological analysis.

Oskar Frånberg

OSKAR FRANBERG LEADS THE RESEARCH GROUP in marine systems engineering at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, and is managing director of the Swedish National Underwater Technology Center. This father of three is an engineer by training and has been active in dive research, especially rebreather physiology, for more than 20 years.

Frånberg shows off his harvest after freediving.

River Diving

MANY DIVERS AND NONDIVERS ALIKE envision the ideal scuba dive as a coral reef in warm, clear water surrounded by a myriad of beautiful fish. River diving, on the other hand, is drastically different and not for the faint of heart. 

divers with diver flag buoys

I Didn’t See That Coming

MY HUSBAND, BARRY, AND I got our dive certifications in Cozumel, Mexico, in 1994, and since then it has been one of our favorite destinations. We spent three weeks diving there in the summer of 2001, following our routine of running, exercising, and diving twice a day. 

Dr. Dario Gomez and some of his staff at the Costamed hyperbaric chamber

Blue Whales

SHARING SPACE WITH WILD ANIMALS in nature is one of the greatest gifts life has to offer. Maybe you’ve locked eyes with an orangutan in Borneo, or perhaps you’ve watched a clownfish gently tend its eggs on a reef. You may have spied an army of leafcutter ants marching plant clippings back to its colony or peered over the bow of a boat only to catch the gaze of a dolphin. 

blank

San Diego

WHEN I MOVED TO SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, from New England in January 2007, I knew next to nothing about the area. As I made my way across the country, I considered my future — one that was hazy, although it seemed likely to involve fish tacos and a diminished need to say that I “loved the seasons.” I had an easier time envisioning the local diving: towering kelp forests and sharks everywhere.

sevengill shark

Yoga Fitness for Scuba Diving

YOGA KEEPS YOU YOUNG, at least from a physiological perspective. Regular yoga practice can counter the effects of aging by regularly moving joints through a full range of motion, improving strength and balance, and reducing stress. 

cobra position two

The Hamlet Dilemma

SINCE THE LATE 1800S, debate among marine taxonomists has swirled around the species status of the stately little Caribbean sea basses in genus Hypoplectrus, commonly known as hamlets. At the heart of the controversy is the essence of taxonomy: What defines a species?

Indigo hamlet

Renting Dive Gear

IMAGINE RENTING A CAR, NAVIGATING TRAFFIC ON UNFAMILIAR ROADS, and then finding yourself in a heavy rainstorm — only to realize you don’t know how to operate the windshield wipers. You would not want to replicate this situation underwater with dive gear.

Diver renting dive gear from shop

Recruiting for DAN Research

DAN RESEARCH IS CONTINUALLY LOOKING for divers, researchers, and health care professionals to volunteer to support our work. Depending on your availability and location, you might qualify as a diver in a DAN research study — online or in the water. 

DAN Research
English