Posted 11.30.2009 at 5:53 pm
8 Comments
Mole Pile
A few weeks ago we wrote about the naked mole rat, a repugnant little subterranean creature possessing a unique immunity to cancer. Now it turns out that the hardy little rodents are resistant to strokes as well, a finding that may help researchers figure out better treatments for brain injuries arising from heart attacks and strokes.
The cancer immunity in mole rats is genetic, but their seeming immunity to brain damage from strokes is less nature, more nurture. Naked mole rats live about six feet below the ground in hive-like colonies of up to 300, tight conditions for any species (note the picture above). Those living conditions spawn serious air quality problems. The air that mole rats breathe is so horribly foul and so rich in carbon dioxide that it would be fatal -- or at the very least cause irreversible brain damage -- to any other mammal.
The naked mole rat, however, has adapted a tolerance for systemic hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in both the pulmonary and nervous systems. Mole rat neurons maintain function more than six times longer than comparable mouse neurons can after oxygen deprivation sets in.
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Science, Clay Dillow, health, medicine, naked mole rats, neurons, oxygen deprivation, strokeBy studying the naked mole rat's brain, researchers hope to learn the processes that allow longer neural survival in cases of stroke or pulmonary emergency, which could in turn lead to better options protecting nervous tissue in those situations.
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man these things are crazy,
the seem to live through everything.
where do they live on the planet?
Now people are going to be asking. "Where can I get some mole rat stew?"
The answer to that is six feet under...
This article does a great job of listing human disorders that the mole rat is immune to. But nothing in nature is perfect. What are they more susceptible to that we aren't?
@msmith144
mostly likely the atrocious sub-par television programming we subject ourselves to on a nightly basis. one look at (insert god-awful reality show here) and they probably just melt.
wonder if anyone has tried this.
test some radiation on these aliens and see if they live because these things are really tough
Has anyone thought of a good diet and exersice to fight diesease?
What kills them? Fresh air and sunlight. No skin cancer, but they still burn and that O2 rich air will mess with them after awhile.
They are predominately found in Africa. They do not taste like chicken. They do not make good pets. They do not dance or aid pre-teen spies. They do not melt holes in ice to eat penguins. They are no more hideous than any other rodent without hair (or when their hair is flat, such as after a bath).