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
Cayenne pepper
Spice (ground) Description: Powdered seasoning made from a variety of tropical chiles, including red cayenne peppers. It is very hot and spicy, so use ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- Christmas(52)
- Easter(33)
- Spring festival(22)
- Thanksgiving(15)
- Spanish festivals(11)
- Halloween(3)
Festivals(140) Terms
- Misc restaurant(209)
- Culinary(115)
- Fine dining(63)
- Diners(23)
- Coffehouses(19)
- Cafeterias(12)
Restaurants(470) Terms
- General boating(783)
- Sailboat(137)
- Yacht(26)
Boat(946) Terms
- General law(5868)
- Contracts(640)
- Patent & trademark(449)
- Legal(214)
- US law(77)
- European law(75)
Law(7373) Terms
- Pesticides(2181)
- Organic fertilizers(10)
- Potassium fertilizers(8)
- Herbicides(5)
- Fungicides(1)
- Insecticides(1)