BiotechMashup

An international team of researchers from Korea, China and the U.S. has, for the first time, demonstrated the physiology and longevity of the naked mole rats (NMR) in terms of genomics and transcriptomics. The results provide an excellent opportunity to better understand the unique traits of naked mole rats and advance its use in biological and biomedical studies.

Naked mole-rats can withstand brain oxygen deprivation for more than 30 minutes -- more than any other mammal. The finding may provide clues for developing new brain injury treatments following stroke or heart attack.

Sequencing the genome of the long-lived naked mole rat opens a "treasure trove" of information to scientists. An international team now reports the completed naked mole rat genome sequence.

(University of Illinois at Chicago) Naked mole-rats can withstand brain oxygen deprivation for more than 30 minutes -- more than any other mammal. The finding, reported by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers, may provide clues for developing new brain injury treatments following stroke or heart attack.

Scientists have generated the first whole-genome sequencing data of the naked mole-rat, a rodent that is resistant to cancer and lives for more than 30 years. The naked mole-rat is native to the deserts of East Africa and has unique physical traits that allow it to survive in harsh environments for many years. It has a lack of pain sensation in its skin and has a low metabolic rate that allows it to live underground with limited oxygen supply.

(BioMed Central) Naked mole rats live in a "hive" society with one reproducing queen, one to three reproducing males, and workers who either defend the burrow or find food -- not an easy task when you are virtually blind and all the tunnels smell of mole rat. New research published in BioMed Central's open-access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that mole rat sperm has become simple and degenerate, probably due to "orthogenic" (straight line) evolution.

Despite a 30-year lifespan that gives ample time for cells to grow cancerous, a small rodent species called a naked mole rat has never been found with tumors of any kind -- and now biologists think they know why.

(University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio) Sequencing the genome of the long-lived naked mole rat opens a "treasure trove" of information to scientists. An international team including the Barshop Institute at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio reported the completed naked mole rat genome sequence Oct. 12 in the journal Nature.

Author(s): Frederik Ceyssens, Maarten Driesen and Robert PuersAffiliation(s): Department of Electrical Engineering, Div. MICAS, KULeuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Leuven, Belgium