In a remote Andean mining town, scientists are studying how life at extremely low oxygen levels ravages the body
Hypoxia is a major stressor for the human organism triggering profound biological responses. Hypoxia can be encountered at altitude where millions of people are travelling for professional/recreational reasons or are living permanently, but is also characterizing several pathological conditions such as respiratory diseases for instance.
Expedition 5300 is a unique research project aiming at investigating for the first time the population of the highest city in the world (La Rinconanda, Peru, 5100-5300 m) in order to describe the mechanisms of adaptation and intolerance to chronic hypoxic exposure. In 2019, the Expedition 5300 team collected an exceptional set of data in more than 100 Peruvians dwellers, including biological samples allowing an exhaustive genetic characterization of this unique population.