Abstract

Did you know that naked mole-rats don’t age the same way humans and other mammals do? These incredible rodents don’t seem to age physically and they are resistant to age-related diseases. That’s why they can live over 30 years! Scientists are trying to understand how aging works in naked mole-rats so that they can better understand aging in humans. We conducted a DNA analysis of naked mole-rat tissue to find out if their DNA shows signs of aging. We discovered that naked mole-rats do age on a molecular level like other mammals. Identifying where the DNA changed in naked mole-rats allowed us to predict what effects these changes might have on the body. We also found that members of a naked mole-rat community age faster than their queen.

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