Human Variation

1. In high altitude, the human body suffers many changes. In high altitude the climate is very harsh as it goes to both extremes everyday. The day is very hot and at night the temperature gets very low. At high altitudes, the air pressure is lower than at sea level. Therefore it makes it harder for oxygen to go through the human vascular system. This stress causes hypoxia, which is oxygen deprivation. This condition begins to limit the ability to do habitual physical activities, and gradually gets worse to the point that it can cause death from pulmonary and cerebral edema.This also creates a greater chance of heart failure. Within this, there is also vomiting, headaches, loss of appetite, distorted vision, fatigue, and difficulty in thinking clearly. Also, the low humidity and strong winds cause rapid dehydration. These changes disturb homeostasis and some humans may not be able to survive through it.                               
2. A short-term adaptation that the human body creates is to increase breathing. Due to these environmental stress, the human body greatly increases its regular breathing and heart rate patterns. As the heart pumps harder, the pulse rate and blood pressure also greatly increase. This is a very stressful process, especially for weak hearts. The facultative adaptation that the body undergoes is the creation of more red blood cells and capillaries to carry more oxygen. In this process, the lungs get larger so that it is easier to use and create oxygen and carbon dioxide. To make it easier to transfer these gases, the vascular muscles network increases. The developmental adaptation that comes about is that those living in high altitudes have 10 oxygen-processing genes that are not common in those who live in lowland. In particular, the EPAS1 gene is important, to survive the low oxygen pressure environment. In addition, high expression levels of the gene PDP2, which helps convert food into fuel, is important to adjust to low pressure. They are also able to produce more hemoglobin in their blood and expand lungs. The cultural adaptation that people in high altitudes may show, is a large diet. These groups may eat more than usual because without a clear sense of appetite, they still need to make sure they have enough food in their system to be healthy. They need food in their body to contain fuel. Also, their clothing styles of course include more layers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
3. The benefits of studying the human variations in different environmental clines is that we get to discover more of why humans look the way we do and what accounts for our differences. It also allows us to understand how and why people are able to survive in different environments.  Looking at human variation in this perspective helps to inform people of the risks they will put their body through if they choose to go to high altitudes when they live in lowlands. For example, a person who has heart problems may want to go visit or live in a place of high altitudes, like Peru. The information gathered from explorations like this well be very helpful. If they are unaware of the consequences that this environmental stress creates to the human body, then they will putting their life at risk.                                                                       
4. It would be difficult to use race as an explanation for human variation in adaptions. Maybe I would say that Natives (indigenous people) have stronger hearts. The use of race to explain human variation is not good because it focuses on phenotypical traits. People are groups based on appearance, but it does not show a reason for these differences. In contrast, studying the environmental influences on adaptations helps to truly understand the differences between humans. It gives an explanation that shows that variations are not traits of inferiority, rather that they are essential elements in the survival of humans.