Woman Trapped 15 Days in Well: What Determines Genetic Factors of Survival?

A Chinese woman was found alive after being trapped for 15 days in an abandoned well, according to various reports via local media. She had survived by eating corn-cobs and drinking rainwater, The Guardian notes.

Su Qixiu, 38, was found at the bottom of the well, located near a rural part of central China's Henan province, according to the Dahe Daily.

The news organization notes that the well was hidden by corn plants, making it difficult for Qixiu's family to find her, who had been searching following her dissapperance for several days.

Though the well is noted to be one meter in diameter and four meters deep, according to the AFP, the smooth walls made climbing out difficult.

When it's reported that villagers heard Qixiu's cries for help, firefighters who rescued her said she lay on the well floor with her  legs bent and was "scarily skinny" from the small amount of food and water she'd been living on. She could barely speak when she was rescued, and though no obvious injuries have been reported at this time, she is receiving fluids at a local hospital.

The small amount of food that Qixiu lived on during her time in the well shows just how little the body can go on when in survival mode.

We know that at the age of 74 Mahatma Gandhi, the famous nonviolent campaigner for India's independence, was able to survive for 21 days on total starvation and small sips of water.

The Scientific American notes that unlike total starvation, near-total starvation with continued hydration has occurred frequently throughout history and in patients under medical supervision. Survival for months to years is commonly seen in concentration camps, and though determining survival can be difficult, genetic components including the body's ability to moderate metabolism in order to conserve energy can play a major role in an individual's survival.

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