Mole rats are tricky because even though they live in a physically stressful environment that would lead to increased rates of cancer in most animals, the disease has never been detected in a naked mole rat. The new findings, published in Plos One show that their genes help them manage their stressors.
Scientists think the same genes in humans play a role in dealing with cell damage, so they hope studying the buck-toothed rat will give insight into human aging and cancer. The thing might one day save your life! So maybe we should ease up on the penis jokes. [PLOS One; Image:Roman Klementschitz]
