No Hair, No Air, No Cares: Naked Mole Rat Survives Low Oxygen

Our homely but scientifically compelling friend, the naked mole rat, is once again making news.

This hairless and undeniably off-putting critter, noteworthy for a 30-year lifespan that eclipses by far those of other members of the rodent family, was recently noted for its genetically based predisposition against developing cancer. We reported on these findings in late October.

Now, as reported by ScienceDaily, the naked mole rat is singled out for clues it may offer doctors for developing treatments for people to improve the odds of surviving a stroke.

It's not that this animal wasn't already sufficiently interesting, but we can now add to its unusual characteristics an ability to survive in conditions of very low oxygen for up to a half hour. University of Chicago physiology professor John Larson tells ScienceDaily that "in the most extreme cases, naked mole rat neurons maintain function more than six times longer than mouse neurons after the onset of oxygen deprivation."

The researchers aim to uncover what aspects are at the root of the naked mole rat's capacity to survive in low oxygen conditions with the hope of transferring such findings to people. Oxygen deprivation can cause permanent brain damage and eventually death; extending the period of time that people could go without oxygen could yield tremendous benefits for medical emergencies where seconds count. Study co-author Thomas Park frames the team's next challenges for ScienceDaily:

"The trick now will be to learn how naked mole rats have been able to retain infant-like brain protection from low oxygen, so we can use this information to help people who experience temporary loss of oxygen to the brain in situations like heart attacks, stroke or drowning."

Photo courtesy of Joachim S. Müller, via Flickr