Naked Mole-Rats
kthompson | November 3, 2009
Sketch by Peter Gulsvig, renowned Zartist
While I believe this bit of news has been well circulated this week, I wanted to give it the Zooillogix bump. Plus, I can only assume Zooillogix readers look to our blog for the latest breaking news... thus it would be a great disservice to all 25 of them to leave this unreported. University of Rochester biologists think they've figured out why the beloved naked mole rat continues to live their entire 30 year moley lifespans without ever having a tumor. That's right. No researcher has ever discovered evidence of cancer in these beauts.
The biologists…
zooillogix | July 2, 2007Scientists interested in treating infertility in humans are turning to an unlikely source for inspiration: naked mole-rats. The rats--actually more closely related to porcupines and chinchillas than moles or rats--live in large colonies much like ants. In these colonies, one dominant female called the "queen" maintains a monopoly on breeding rights by constantly bullying the other female workers and soldiers. The stress of the bullying brings on a suppression of certain fertility hormones in the victims, causing them to be infertile. In a turn-of-events that gives hope to every whipped…