Weird: Naked Mole Rats Don't Die of Old Age

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor | January 30, 2018 07:37am ET

Just when it seemed the naked mole rat couldn't get any weirder, it turns out the buck-toothed, bare-skinned rodents don't even age.

Unlike literally every other mammal, naked mole rats don't become more likely to die as they get up there in years. In humans, for example, with all else being equal besides age, a person's risk of dying doubles every 8 years after age 40. For naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber), there is no increase in the risk of death even when the rats are 25 times older than the onset of sexual maturity.

"It doesn't matter how old you are," said Rochelle Buffenstein, a senior principal investigator at Calico Life Sciences LLC, a research company in San Francisco. "Your death is random." [Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures]

Read on

An extra protein gives naked mole rats more power to stop cancer

Date:

February 4, 2015

Source:

University of Rochester

Summary:

A protein newly found in the naked mole rat may help explain its unique ability to ward off cancer. The protein is associated with a locus that is also found in humans and mice. It's the job of that locus to encode several cancer-fighting proteins. The locus found in naked mole rats encodes a total of four cancer-fighting proteins, while the human and mouse version encodes only three.

Continued ...

Factor in naked mole rat's cells enhances protein integrity

Date:

August 29, 2014

Source:

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Summary:

A factor in naked mole rat cells could be one of the secrets to how the rodent defies aging, researchers say. Naked mole rats, which burrow through underground tunnels in their native East Africa, are nearly hairless rodents. They live as long as 32 years. Naked mole rats maintain cancer-free good health and reproductive potential well into their third decade of life

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Naked mole rats and the secret to longevity

Date:

April 28, 2014

Source:

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)

Summary:

With lifespans of up to 31 years, naked mole rats live decades longer than would be expected based on their size. By comparison, mice live at most four years. A new study links their remarkable lifespans to high levels of a quality-control protein, offering new insights on age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Continued

Naked Mole Rat Named 'Vertebrate of the Year'

Famed as the world's longest-living rodent, the wrinkly faced naked mole rat has won Science Magazine's Vertebrate of the Year award, confirming that the contest is based on more than just looks. 

The naked mole rat, a subterranean rodent native to East Africa, can live up to 30 years, roughly nine times longer than mice of the same size. With two yellow buck teeth protruding from a pale, hairless body, the mammal may not be an eye pleaser, but it has an alluring longevity-related adaptation that has gripped researchers in recent years: It seems to be immune to cancer.

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Long-Lived Rodents Have High Levels of Brain-Protecting Factor

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2012) — The typical naked mole rat lives 25 to 30 years, during which it shows little decline in activity, bone health, reproductive capacity and cognitive ability. What is the secret to this East African rodent's long, healthy life?

Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber). (Credit: © belizar / Fotolia)

What an attractive fellow

Scientists from the United States and Israel found a clue. From infancy to old age, naked mole rats are blessed with large amounts of a protein essential for normal brain function.

"Naked mole rats have the highest level of a growth factor called NRG-1 in the cerebellum. Its levels are sustained throughout their life, from development through adulthood," said Yael Edrey, doctoral student at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio's Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.

Comparison across 7 species

The Barshop Institute has the largest colony of naked mole rats in the U.S. -- 2,000 rodents scampering around a network of tubes and cages in humid conditions that mimic their natural underground habitat. Edrey is the lead author of research that compared lifelong NRG-1 levels across seven species of rodents, from mice and guinea pigs to blind mole rats and Damaraland mole rats.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120510132711.htm