The Mammal That Barely Ages
The impossible claim This wrinkled rodent lives 30+ years — nine times longer than a mouse — and its risk of dying doesn’t rise with age at all. The verified facts The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a nearly hairless, cold-blooded burrowing rodent from East Africa — and the longest-lived rodent known. Where a similar-sized mouse survives about 4 years, naked mole rats routinely live over 28 years (some past 30), and the oldest recorded reached 41 years. ...