15 October 2012
Rat's Happy Tale
There is much to envy about the naked mole rat. It is resistant to cancer and remains active for almost all of its life, which can span 30 years or more, the longest of any known rodent. The unusually good health of the bizarre-looking creature, which lives in harsh conditions in underground colonies in Africa, is of interest to scientists investigating age-related diseases in humans. No mole rat has ever been found to have cancer naturally and neither can tumours be induced with radiation or injections of cancer-causing genes. It seems that the mole rat’s tissues are very good at recognising abnormal cells, preventing them from dividing and repairing their DNA. Quite how mole rats avoid age-related problems such as osteoporosis, heart conditions, loss of muscle, infertility and a slowing metabolism until they reach extreme old age, is yet to be fully understood.
Written by
- Courtesy Meghan Murphy, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
- Originally published under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Search The Archive
Submit An Image
Like us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter
Follow on Tumblr
Follow on Instagram
What is BPoD?
BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.
BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.