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| credit: ALAMY |
Undoubtably one of Natures ugliest creatures, the naked mole rat
(Heterocephalus glaber) is also a master of longevity. The species has been inhabiting Earth since the early Pliocene and individuals have life spans as long as 31 years. That is unusually long for a rodent when, for example, similar sized mice live four years at the most. A protein known to science as HSP25 appears to be responsible for the mole's long life span. It functions as quality control for protein production, eliminating damaged proteins from the body before they can cause a problem like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease in humans. Many neurodegenerative diseases like these are caused by build-ups of defective proteins called aggregates. Scientists at the University of Texas positively correlated the amount of HSP25 and an animal's maximum life span. Increasing the human version of HSP25 could be a potential treatment for these diseases.
The naked mole rat is unique in several ways. It is the only mammal that is cold blooded and has a very low metabolic and respiratory rate. It's naked skin does not have any pain transmitters, a useful feature for an animal that spends it life underground. It is eusocial or the has the highest level of animal social behavior such as those possessed by bees, ants and wasps. Mole rat colonies castes or specialized behavior groups, raise their young collectively, and have a queen responsible for breeding. Workers are sterile. Mole rats appear spry and healthy well into old age. They have a resistance to cancer apparently because of the abundant production of a natural sugary substance known as hyaluronan. Finally, although mole rats eat primarily tubers, they are known to be coprophaglc. Because of these achievements,
Science named the mole rat, 2013 "Vertebrate of the Year".