Your superhero is hairless, buck-toothed and weighs up to two ounces.
Sure, he may not sound like much — or look like it. But the naked mole rat’s superhuman longevity is helping researchers unlock clues that may help prevent age-related diseases like cancer and dementia.
These animals can live more than 30 years, outstripping most of their rodent cousins such as mice and rats. What’s more, they approach their golden years without much of the physical deterioration that tends to accompany the aging process in other mammals. Naked mole rats almost never get cancer, have a remarkable pain tolerance and can even last 18 minutes without oxygen.
Their fountain of limited youth? DNA damage control.
As most animals and humans get older, small mutations in DNA produce faulty proteins that can throw a wrench in your body’s condition, causing cells to age. By contrast, these rodential nudists have systems that effectively replace any hiccups that may occur in their DNA. With the help of a gene that encourages antioxidants, they can even prevent DNA disarray from happening in the first place.
In people, the buildup of aged cells causes degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease. Due to their systems, naked mole rats have almost none of these issues, as the cells are disposed of without the chance to accumulate.
Of course, aging is inevitable. But researchers are hopeful that shedding light on the mole rat’s body mechanisms will advance degenerative disease treatment and overall disease resistance, and even serve as a marker for those whose bodies are predisposed.
After all that, who needs Clark Kent?