The Long, Strange Life of the World s Oldest Naked Mole Rat | WIRED

Back then, Buffenstein was one of just a few researchers looking at mole rats and aging. Now mole rats are all the rage, and labs around the world are exploring their basic biology with the goal of using those insights to develop drugs that might prevent the ravages of age in people. Because humans and gorillas get hypertension. Mice and zebrafish get cancer. Kangaroos and dogs get arthritis. An endless list of diseases of aging plague an endless list of animals. The and s are so prevalent that any but makes scientists eyes spring open. Joe is a but. Mole rats enjoy incredibly long and healthy lives before they expire.

The naked mole rat says it’s not inevitable, says Buffenstein, who now works for Google s biotech spinoff, Calico Labs, which does R&D to combat aging and associated diseases. “They clearly have a blueprint to stave off aging.

via www.wired.com

Are they hideous or are they beautiful? I think they’re beautiful, in their way. And some of them refuse to die.