Everest: An extreme medical expedition
A team of doctors, scientists and mountaineers are attempting to summit Everest this spring. As if that weren’t hard enough, they’re taking an exercise bike with them.
Together the group hopes to take some novel measurements of the blood’s oxygen content at high altitude, to understand more about the body’s response to hypoxia. The data they gather should help in the treatment of critical care patients down here at sea level, who also have problems shuttling enough oxygen around their bodies.
Today the group writes to Nature from Namche Bazaar, the village that serves as gateway to the high Himalayas. And they’ll keep sending us reports as the expedition continues; check the Nature newsblog for the science team’s diary entries.
For more about the science behind this expedition, read our news story from October 2006.
And find out more about the project on the Cauldwell Xtreme Everest site.