Tag Archives: Sichuan

Altitude sickness may hinder ethnic integration in the world’s highest places

Ethnic segregation in nations straddling the world’s highest terrains may be reinforced by the biological tolerance different peoples have to altitude, according to one of the first studies to examine the effect of elevation on ethnic demographics.

Research from Princeton University published in the journal Applied Geography suggests that people native to low-lying areas can be naturally barred from regions such as the Tibetan Plateau, the Andes or the Himalayas by altitude sickness, which is caused by low oxygen concentration in the air and can be life-threatening. As a result, the homogeny of the local population can increase with elevation. In nations shared by people of high- and lowland extractions, this separation can potentially increase ethnic tension. (more…)

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Do animals sense natural events?

Were these natural warning of an impending earthquake in the mountainous Sichuan province in China – there is much news coming out now, something that could look like superstitions. As the news emerges, three days before the earthquake thousands of toads appeared on the streets on Mianzhu city or hours before the unusual behaviour of lions, zebras and other animals at the zoo in Wuhan. What the human perception could not catch, animals could!!

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