Consider the following scenario: A group of five treasure hunters have been hired to retrieve some artefacts believed to be in an abandoned castle in an environment similar to the Arctic tundra (this is a quasi-fantasy land where disparate climates can co-exist in ways they can’t in reality, but everyone is human and has human physiology). Their expedition is happening in winter, and the group set out each carrying a pack of supplies including tents, sleeping gear, and food for either 3 well-fed days or up to 8 days with rationing (approximately 30kg each). The treasure hunters travel on foot to get to the castle through lands where there are predators such as wolves and bears. They have two options in terms of speed of travel: slow (7 days to castle), and fast (4 days to castle). 1) As an advisor to the group, which speed would you say they should travel? Note – neither speed is wrong however your answer must justify your choice in terms of physiology.     Once the group get to the castle, they discover a map indicating that the artefacts are in the depths of the castle. As they move downwards, the temperature and humidity start to dramatically increase making it harder for the treasure hunters to breathe and cool down. 2) Explain why the group are struggling to cool themselves down.     Eventually, the treasure hunters find the artefacts they are after. Huzzah! However, one of them accidentally triggers a failsafe to stop would-be thieves and they must sprint away to safety (think the boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark – there’s a link on Moodle to a YouTube clip if you haven’t seen this before). After about a minute of running at full speed, the group find a cave into which they can escape certain death but immediately after they enter, it becomes sealed off and they are trapped. 3) Describe the current physical state of the treasure hunters, thinking in particular about signals coming from both the endocrine and nervous systems. What could they do or consume to aid in a quick recovery?

Consider the following scenario:

A group of five treasure hunters have been hired to retrieve some artefacts believed to be in an abandoned castle in an environment similar to the Arctic tundra (this is a quasi-fantasy land where disparate climates can co-exist in ways they can’t in reality, but everyone is human and has human physiology). Their expedition is happening in winter, and the group set out each carrying a pack of supplies including tents, sleeping gear, and food for either 3 well-fed days or up to 8 days with rationing (approximately 30kg each).

The treasure hunters travel on foot to get to the castle through lands where there are predators such as wolves and bears. They have two options in terms of speed of travel: slow (7 days to castle), and fast (4 days to castle).

1) As an advisor to the group, which speed would you say they should travel? Note – neither speed is wrong however your answer must justify your choice in terms of physiology.

Once the group get to the castle, they discover a map indicating that the artefacts are in the depths of the castle. As they move downwards, the temperature and humidity start to dramatically increase making it harder for the treasure hunters to breathe and cool down.

2) Explain why the group are struggling to cool themselves down.

Eventually, the treasure hunters find the artefacts they are after. Huzzah! However, one of them accidentally triggers a failsafe to stop would-be thieves and they must sprint away to safety (think the boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark – there’s a link on Moodle to a YouTube clip if you haven’t seen this before). After about a minute of running at full speed, the group find a cave into which they can escape certain death but immediately after they enter, it becomes sealed off and they are trapped.

3) Describe the current physical state of the treasure hunters, thinking in particular about signals coming from both the endocrine and nervous systems. What could they do or consume to aid in a quick recovery?