{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Naked mole rats are becoming increasingly popular in research laboratories. The seemingly invulnerable rodents have surprised scientists with their ability to live up to 30 years and their potential to offer insights into human health.' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c501d8eafeecae16cef8' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c501d8eafeecae16cef8' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nNaked mole rats are becoming increasingly popular in research laboratories. The seemingly invulnerable rodents have surprised scientists with their ability to live up to 30 years and their potential to offer insights into human health.\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eHEADLINE: Scientist: Naked mole rats ''Holy Grail'' on agingCAPTION:  About 1,600 naked mole rats live in clear tanks at the Univ. of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where researcher Rochelle Buffenstein nurtures the largest...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eHEADLINE: Scientist: Naked mole rats ''Holy Grail'' on aging\u003cbr/\u003eCAPTION:  About 1,600 naked mole rats live in clear tanks at the Univ. of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where researcher Rochelle Buffenstein nurtures the largest colony in the U.S.   They''re being used to study everything from aging to cancer. (March 23)\u003cbr/\u003e  Naked mole rats don''t get cancer. \u003cbr/\u003e  And the rodent has surprised research scientists with its unusually long lifespan and its resistance to pain.\u003cbr/\u003e  Naked mole rats are becoming increasingly popular in research laboratories.\u003cbr/\u003e  The seemingly invulnerable rodents have surprised scientists with their ability to live up to 30 years and their potential to offer insights into human health. \u003cbr/\u003e  They''re being used to study everything from ageing to cancer to strokes.\u003cbr/\u003e  About 1,600 naked mole rats live in clear tanks connected by long tubes at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where researcher Rochelle Buffenstein nurtures the largest colony in the U.S. \u003cbr/\u003e  \"I''ve worked on a hundred and sixty-eight different species, from kangaroos to snakes to reptiles to naked mole rats. I keep coming back to the naked mole rats because I really do think they hold so many interesting insights and pose so many interesting questions for scientific research,\" she says.\u003cbr/\u003e  Mole rats normally live in underground tunnels with a social structure comparable to bees. \u003cbr/\u003e  Buffenstein is studying their longevity.\u003cbr/\u003e  Whereas laboratory mice live an average two years, naked mole rats can live up 30 years with little creaking in old age. \u003cbr/\u003e  Buffenstein says their bone quality doesn''t start to diminish until they''re about 24 years old.\u003cbr/\u003e  \"In terms of ageing biology, I think the naked mole rat is the holy grail. I think we''re going to learn an incredible amount about how to maintain health quality throughout our long lives like they do.\"\u003cbr/\u003e  They look fragile - several can fit into a palm, and it''s possible to see beneath their pinkish skin - but naked mole rats are like tough, tube-shaped stuntmen.\u003cbr/\u003e  Squirting lemon juice on a cut would sting anyone, but naked mole rats don''t feel pain because they lack a neurotransmitter known as substance P. \u003cbr/\u003e  The discovery has opened up ideas for pain research.\u003cbr/\u003e  As for cancer, Buffenstein says the disease has never been found in the rodent.\u003cbr/\u003e  \"We know that from the many, many animals that we''ve had over those years we''ve never had a single tumour found naturally in our colony, so that was the first insight that they must do something. Because we know with humans and every other species, especially mice, that as you get into your last quarter of your life the chances of having cancer are really really high.\"\u003cbr/\u003e  A study published last October found their resistance may come from a gene called p16 that prevents cells from crowding together. \u003cbr/\u003e  Cancer occurs when cells grow uncontrollably.\u003cbr/\u003e  But the early blind and hairless rodents are not very nice to look at, resembling wrinkled spring rolls with tiny legs and buck teeth. \u003cbr/\u003e  \"Are naked mole rats ugly? I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think they''re not the most attractive-looking animal until you''ve spent a little bit time with them, and at that point in time I think that you have to admit they become really cute,\" says Buffenstein.\u003cbr/\u003e  As recently as the 1990s, Buffenstein says she and only one other group were really studying naked mole rats. \u003cbr/\u003e  Now she expects them to be common in laboratories by 2020.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' 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The seemingly invulnerable rodents have surprised scientists with their ability to live up to 30 years and their potential to offer insights into human health.\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"resource-img img-thumbnail img-responsive z-10 lp-boclips-thumbnail w-full h-full lozad\" alt=\"Naked mole rats are becoming increasingly popular in research laboratories. The seemingly invulnerable rodents have surprised scientists with their ability to live up to 30 years and their potential to offer insights into human health.\" title=\"Naked mole rats are becoming increasingly popular in research laboratories. 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