Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Naked mole rat
Naked mole rat
The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber), also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa. It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enables it to thrive in an otherwise harsh, underground environment, including a lack of pain sensation in its skin and a very low metabolism. The naked mole rat is also of interest because it is extraordinarily long-lived for a rodent of its size (up to 28 years) and holds the record for the longest living rodent. Naked mole rats appear to have a high resistance to cancer; cancer has never been observed in them. A potential mechanism that averts cancer is an "over-crowding" gene, p16, which prevents cell division once a group of cells reaches a certain size. The combination of p16 and p27 in naked mole rats cells is a double barrier to cell proliferation.
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
John Isner
John Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. At a height of 6-foot-9, he is one of the tallest professional tennis ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- Capacitors(290)
- Resistors(152)
- Switches(102)
- LCD Panels(47)
- Power sources(7)
- Connectors(7)
Electronic components(619) Terms
- Medicine(68317)
- Cancer treatment(5553)
- Diseases(4078)
- Genetic disorders(1982)
- Managed care(1521)
- Optometry(1202)
Health care(89875) Terms
- Automobile(10466)
- Motorcycles(899)
- Automotive paint(373)
- Tires(268)
- Vehicle equipment(180)
- Auto parts(166)
Automotive(12576) Terms
- Journalism(537)
- Newspaper(79)
- Investigative journalism(44)
News service(660) Terms
- Misc restaurant(209)
- Culinary(115)
- Fine dining(63)
- Diners(23)
- Coffehouses(19)
- Cafeterias(12)