The Surprising Link Between a Sea Worm and Breath-Holding
In the coastal labs of Brittany, France, a surprising hero is emerging from the sea: the lugworm, Arenicola marina.
Hemarina, a startup founded in 2007 by marine biologist Franck Zal, has turned this unassuming worm’s unique hemoglobin into a game-changer medical product, offering new possibilities for health and resilience. This isn’t just a medical curiosity; it’s a lifeline for people facing oxygen-related challenges, and it sheds light on the power of our own physiology through BreathHoldWork.
The lugworm’s hemoglobin is a natural wonder, designed to thrive in low-oxygen mudflats. It carries oxygen far more effectively than human hemoglobin, making it a perfect fit for medical breakthroughs. Since 2017, Hemarina has moved from early experiments to real-world use, starting with organ transplants. A 2019 trial showed that their product (HEMO2life®) helped kidneys recover better, cutting delayed function by 25-30% and inflammation by up to 35%, according to the American Journal of Transplantation (2023). By 2025, it’s being tested for liver and pancreas grafts, with trials showing 40% less damage. The U.S. FDA approved it for sickle cell anemia in 2024. The Navy is even exploring it for battlefield injuries, reducing swelling by 40% to speed healing.
What does this mean for you?
If you’ve ever worried about surgery risks, blood shortages, or recovery time, that product could be a game-changer. Its ability to work with any blood type and stay stable for 3 years as a powder could save lives in emergencies or remote areas, cutting wait times and infection risks. For those with respiratory issues like COPD or asthma, it promises a better oxygen supply to ease breathing struggles. Even wound healing, such as after surgery or burns, could improve with its help. Why does it matter? Oxygen is life, and when it’s lacking, due to heart failure, strokes, or organ rejection, the consequences are dire. This worm-based solution offers hope, extending critical moments, such as the “golden hour,” in trauma care.
It’s promising because it’s natural, resisting the side effects of synthetic alternatives, and Hemarina is scaling up production with new farming methods to meet demand.
But you don’t have to wait for this technology to transform your health.
You don’t need a transplant, battlefield injury, or even a lung condition to benefit from oxygen efficiency. Everyday stress, poor sleep, and anxiety are all situations where your body mismanages oxygen. That’s where BreathHoldWork steps in.
BreathHoldWork taps into your body’s own, natural oxygen efficiency mechanisms through simple, mindful holds. The dive reflex kicks in, conserving oxygen and calming your heart, with studies showing up to 20% longer holds with mental focus (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2001).
My 7 minutes 29 seconds CMAS static apnea US national record, achieved without oxygen inhalation or PED use, proves it: the nervous system intentionally calms itself, the body relaxes, stress melts away, metabolism slows down, and oxygen is conserved.
BreathHoldWork students and practitioners experience the same, building physiological, neurological, mental, and emotional resilience steadily, without the need for supplements, tricks, or gadgets.
For anyone with health challenges, BreathHoldWork offers a gentle, home-based, completely natural boost to tissue oxygenation, without the need for treatments like Hemarina’s. And it goes beyond optimizing your internal use of ambient oxygen; it also has a profound healing effect on your nervous system, rewiring it for calm and resilience.
A natural, daily practice with life-changing impact. So, what’s not to love about BreathHoldWork?
Erwan Le Corre
Founder of BreathHoldWork®
