Naked mole rat takes home prize for Vertebrate of the Year
Posted by staff / January 1, 2014
Tired of bathing suits and formal dresses, sexiest men alive and worrying that Miley Cyrus is going to take “Person of the Year”?
Well, have we got a winner for you!
The long-lived, East African rodent with looks to kill (and not in a good way) took Science Magazine’s “Vertebrate of the Year” title for 2013 thanks to two different studies explaining the animal’s unusual resistance to cancer.
Both out of the University of Rochester, the first identified a heavier form of hyaluronan, a substance that collects between tissues, which, when removed makes the animals susceptible to the dreaded disease. The second noted that naked mole rats are able to build new proteins with very few errors, which may explain both its long life and cancer-battling abilities.
To celebrate, here’s a video from Science Friday focusing on the inner beauty of this now celebrated animal.
Full story at LiveScience. Video via YouTube.
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