Naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) are tough rodents that have high tolerance for certain types of pain and, until recently, appeared to also be cancer-free. In a study published last week (April 21) in Science, researchers reported yet another remarkable trait: these creatures can survive up to 18 minutes without oxygen, by switching from glucose- to fructose-based metabolism.
“The naked mole rat has simply rearranged some basic building-blocks of metabolism to make it super-tolerant to low oxygen conditions,” coauthor Thomas Park at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told The Guardian.
When Park and colleagues placed naked mole rats in a chamber containing 0 percent oxygen, the animals lost consciousness—but even after 18 minutes, the rodents were able to recover completely when reintroduced to oxygen. ...
