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Article: Into thin air: a U.S. scientist climbs mountains to study how people adapt to high-altitude living.(LIFE)
- Article from:
- Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- February 22, 2008
- Author:
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When Cynthia Beall first visited villagers who live high in the Andes mountains in South America, the children at the local school were afraid of her. They had heard stories of bloodsucking spirits who looked like foreigners. She reassured them that she was just there to see how big and tall they were. Their fear turned to curiosity, and they volunteered enthusiastically.
Beall is an anthropologist, a scientist who studies the origin, biology, behavior, and development of humans. She works at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. For more than 30 years, Beall has traveled to some of the world's highest human habitats, ...