Sherpas show how the human body can thrive in extreme environments

Mount Everest is a grueling, deadly place for many adventurers. Beyond the steep terrain, bone-chilling temperatures, and fierce weather, the air is so thin that your body can begin to shut down.

That is, unless you're a Sherpa.

Members of the Nepalese ethnic group have evolved over generations to withstand the oxygen-deprived atmosphere high in the Himalayas, a new study found. 

Sherpas are, biologically speaking, extremely efficient at producing the energy they need to reach such heights, even where oxygen is scarce, according to research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Read more...