RE: A new research paper finds that naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) don’t have biological age like most other other organisms do! Could they be biologically immortal?

[adventureevryday]

Awww these adorable little guys :) I think their DNA is built on blockchain technology, therefore it lives forever.

Seriously though, these things are pretty fascinating. Any idea what their "average" life expectancy actually is?

Comments

[valth]

Haha, the real-life blockchain animal :)

Unfortunately I have no idea what their average life expectancy is. It does not seem like there has been any studies about this in the wild, and those in the lab tend to die from experiments and dissections, so that does not really tell us anything. But it would be very interesting to know. They are sexually mature at a very young age (6 months), which is typical for small animals that tend to live short lives, so I don't really think they live that long on average.