A year adrift on the Pacific? A medical Q and A

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The story of a Salvadoran fisherman who says he survived more than a year adrift on the Pacific Ocean raises many medical questions. The Associated Press spoke with Claude Piantadosi, a professor of medicine at Duke University and author of the book “The Biology of Human Survival,” to find out what is physically possible and for his view on the tale of Jose Salvador Alvarenga. This is an edited version of the interview:

Q: How long can a human survive without any water, or without any food?