Naked Mole-Rat

The naked mole-rat (heterocephalus glaber) is found in East Africa, ranging from Ethiopia and Somalia to northern Kenya. They are small rodents that are around 5-6 inches long and weigh only a few ounces. They may be small, but they make up in sheer numbers. Naked mole-rats live in large colonies of extended families, run by a single queen. Similar to the way termites live, the mole-rat queen is a lot larger and is the only female in the colony that is able to breed. 

Naked mole-rats are well adapted to living underground. Having no hair means that they won't get dirty when they dig and allows them to slide past each other in their close quarters. Unlike what their name implies, naked mole-rats are not moles, they are a totally different specie, and do not have the large burrowing claws like a regular mole. To make tunnels, they use their teeth. Like all rodents, they have bucked incisors that grow constantly. However, the mole-rat's teeth grow outside of their mouths. This allows them to close their mouths while they are burrowing so they don't get a mouthful of dirt. 

Living in such close proximity to each other can mean it can get rather stuffy in a mole-rat colony and hard to breath. However, this does not bother them. Unlike other animals, mole-rats can survive for long periods of time with little oxygen. When we breath (the process is called respiration), we bring oxygen to our blood that brings it to the rest of our body, and more importantly, our brains. If our bodies go for a long time with out oxygen, we can suffer brain damage or even death. 

Not only can mole-rats survive in their low oxygen environment, but they can also survive in highly acidic soil and toxic metals with out a problem, as well as feeling no pain. They also never get cancer and age differently than other rodents for it's size. Normal rodents that are the same size as the naked mole-rat live around 2 to 4 years. Mole rats can live up to 30 years and show no sign of aging. Our bodies are made out of individual cells that have a specific purpose. As we grow, our cells replicate to replace cells that have died or been damaged. As cells replicate, some pieces don't replicate correctly, break down, or stop working. This causes aging. Even at 30 years old, a mole-rat's cells still look fresh and new, like they don't age at all! Mole rat's are like little super heroes!

Source:  The Encyclopedia of Animals, 2006, Per Christiansen. 
Underground Supermodels: What can a twenty something naked mole-rat tell us about fighting pain, cancer, and aging?, Thomas Park and Rochelle Duffenstein, The Scientist Magazine (June 2012), http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32136/title/Underground-Supermodels/(Accessed Jan. 31, 2014).