Naked Mole Rat Genome Map May Provide Clues to Understanding Cancer, Aging, Harvard Medical School Study

The naked mole rat, a hairless African rodent with a long life-span and resistance to tumors, may hold clues to countering cancer and age-related ailments in people, said scientists who have mapped the creature’s genome. A first analysis of the naked mole rat’s genome has already revealed insights into its longevity, and that it split from its mice and rat cousins about 73 million years ago, according to the research published today in the journal Nature.

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