The last light of the day sets on Mount Everest as it rises behind Mount Nuptse as seen from Tengboche, in the Himalaya's Khumbu region, Nepal. — Photo by AP

KATMANDU: A team of American scientists and researchers is setting up a laboratory at Mount Everest to study the effects of high altitude on humans.

The team from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota says it plans to monitor nine climbers attempting to scale the world's highest peak to learn more about the physiology of humans at high altitudes in order to help patients with heart conditions and other ailments.

Team leader Dr. Bruce Johnson and eight other team members flew to the airstrip at Lukla, near Everest, on Friday.

It will take them about a week to trek to the Everest base camp, with several porters and yaks helping to carry their 680 kilograms of medical gear. They will set up their lab at the base camp, which is located at 5,300 meters.