Enlarge (credit: NSF/UIC Photo)

Naked mole rats are the longest-living rodents, with recorded life spans of over 30 years in captivity. They are native to East Africa, where they live in large colonies in underground burrows. Maximum species lifespan is usually correlated with body size but, like us, naked mole rats are outliers, with longevity quotients far exceeding those expected for animals their size (approximately 35g).

We did it with hygiene, vaccines, and other modern public health measures. How do these rodents do it? A new study adds to the confused picture of how these animals maintain their health.

Senescence vs. cancer

A hallmark of cancer cells is their immortality. Cancer and aging are like opposite poles of a cellular seesaw; molecular mechanisms that protect against one tend to have the unfortunate side effect of promoting the other. But naked mole rats seem to have avoided the pitfalls of both. They almost never get cancer, but they don’t appear aged until the very end of their lives and they are capable of breeding the whole time.