Human Variation

1. High altitudes can be difficult for most humans to navigate for a few reasons. There are extreme changes in climate, days can be very hot and nights can be freezing and the air pressure is low. Low air pressure is dangerous as it makes it more difficult for oxygen to enter our system as needed. This results in hypoxia, which is the lack of oxygen, and whose symptoms start as the inability to do low impact physical activity without fatiguing and can escalate to pulmonary and cerebral edema in the worst cases. Miscarriages are more common at higher altitudes as well due to the fetuses receiving less oxygen from the mothers. 2. There are four adaptations that help with the human responses to high altitudes; short term, facultative, developmental and cultural. Short Term : One short term response when a human is moving into a higher altitude is an increase of pulse and blood pressure. This happens because the heart is working harder to move oxygen throug...