Tiny mouse survives near 7,000 metres on volcanoes, scientists ask how

At first glance, the Andean leaf-eared mouse looks like an ordinary rodent. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, it would be easy to overlook. But this tiny animal is doing something extraordinary: it lives higher in the Andes than almost any other mammal on Earth, surviving at altitudes above 6,700 meters, where oxygen is thin, temperatures are brutal and life seems almost impossible.That makes the mouse more than a scientific curiosity. It has become a living example of how adaptable life can be, and researchers now believe it may also hold clues that could help human medicine.A mammal where mammals should not surviveFor years, scientists assumed that such extreme heights were beyond the reach of mammals. At those elevations, the air is so thin that oxygen deprivation becomes a major challenge, and freezing temperatures make survival even harder.