Bold and back toothed, naked mole rats may not be pretty .but they’re Extraordinary .

with a life span of

30 years, their peculiar traits have evolved over millions of years. To make them uniquely suited to
survive harsh conditions. Especially long periods without oxygen. In the desert of East Africa, naked mole
rats feed on route vegetables. They dig on the roots with teeth that can move into Independently like
Chopsticks. But even with this special Teeth, a single naked mole rat, doesn’t stand a chance of finding
enough food. The roots are large and nutritious, but scattered far and wide. A large workforce has A
much better chance. So naked mole rat live in colonies similar to ants, bees and termites. They build
giant Nest. Housing up to 300 mole rats. This colonies feature complex underground tunnel Systems,
Nest chambers, And community bathrooms. Also like insects, Naked mole rats have a rigid social
structure. The dominant female, the Queen and 2 to 3 males that she chooses are the only naked Mole
Rats in the Colony who have babies. All the other naked mole rats, male and female, are either soldiers
who defend the colony From possible invaders, or workers. teams of workers are dispatched to hunt
For roots, And their harvest feed the whole colony. Living in a colony helps naked mole rats find enough
Food, But when so many animals live in the same underground space, oxygen quickly runs out.
Mammals need a lot of oxygen. We use it to make the energy that fuels everything for maintaining our
body temperatures to our heartbeats to Voluntary Movements. without oxygen we quickly die. In fact,
no other mammal would survive the oxygen depletion Experience in a naked mole rat colony. Naked
mole can survive in low oxygen In part, Because they abandoned one of the body That requires the most
oxygen. Most mammals are warm blooded, Meaning they have to keep their body temperature
consistent. Naked mole rats don’t get enough oxygen to do this. Instead, there the Only mammals
whose body temperature fluctuates with their environment, Making them cold Blooded, Like reptiles.
They also have a special type of hemoglobin, The molecule in the blood that transports oxygen. Their
hemoglobin is much Stickier For oxygen than ours And can pick oxygen up even when it’s scares. IN
response to a real oxygen emergency, Naked mole rats enter a state of suspended animation. they stop
moving. Slow their breathing and dramatically lower their heart rate. This greatly reduce the amount of
Energy, And therefore Oxygen, They need. At the same time, they begin to metabolize fructose like a
plant .Fructose is a sugar that can be used to make energy without burning oxygen.Usually mammals
metabolize a different sugar called glucose that make more energy than fructose. But glucose only
Works when oxygen’s Available.. Human brain and heart cells have some cellular machinery to use
fructose, but not nearly as much as naked Mole rats.. naked mole rats are in fact the only mammals
known to have this ability. While we can hope humans won’t ever To exclusively live in underground
tunnels, There are many situations where we would benefit from needing less oxygen. During heart
attacks and other medical emergencies. People often die or sustained debilitating organ damage from
oxygen deprivation could we replicate the naked mole rat’s use of the fructose pathway for human
health .It took many millions. It took years of evolution to bring the behavior of an insect, The
temperature regulation of a reptile ,and the energy production of a plant together in one little mammal,
but maybe with enough study ,we can replicate just a few of their wild adaptation