ReviewBiological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society2022
The naked truth: a comprehensive clarification and classification of current 'myths' in naked mole-rat biology.
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In one paragraph
Review in Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed
7.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- Intrinsic anti-tumorigenic properties of the skin epithelium promote cancer resistance in naked mole-rats.iScience · 2026Article
- Age-dependent changes in lipid droplet distribution and vascularization in naked mole rat vs. mouse hippocampus.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Article
- Cryo-EM structure of the naked mole-rat ribosome reveals a stabilized split 28S rRNA.Nature communications · 2026Article
- ZooMonitor Community: A Tool for Evaluating Population-Level Behavior Questions.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Could the naked mole-rat become the new standard for studying human gut health and probiotics?The Journal of pathology · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of naked mole-rat thermogenesis and its potential to maintain euthermia in response to cold.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Peaceful queen succession in the naked mole rat.Science advances · 2026Article
- Hypoxia Increases Cardiac Proteasomal Activity and Differentially Modulates Cullin-RING E3 Ligases in the Naked Mole-RatMuscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of acute and chronic hypoxia on the heme oxygenase/carbon monoxide pathway in naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber).The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Unveiling the significance of dog domestication in cognitive dysfunction: Are wolves protected?Open veterinary journal · 2025Article
- Artemin sensitises mouse (Mus musculus) and naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) sensory neurons in vitro.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2025Article
- Naked mole-rats employ a normoxic escape behaviour that is altered by social interaction.Biology letters · 2025Article
- CaCellular and molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Severe acute hypoxia upregulates anaerobic metabolism in non-reproductive but not queen naked mole-rats.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Metabolic expenditure of submaximal locomotion in naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) and Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis).The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- African Mole-Rats May Have High Bone Conduction Sensitivity to Counterbalance Low Air Conduction Sensitivity.Audiology research · 2025Review
- Functional characterization of the store-operated calcium entry pathway in naked mole-rat cells.Open biology · 2025Article
- Illuminating the Shadows of Neuroscience: How Curiosity and Courage Redefine Research Models and Mentorship.eNeuro · 2025Article
- The evolution of division of labour: preconditions and evolutionary feedback.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
68 authors at 20 institutions in 12 countries.
Rochelle BuffensteinCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Vincent AmorosoDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A.
Blazej AndziakGraduate Center City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, U.S.A.
Stanislav AvdieievMoffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, U.S.A.
Jorge AzpuruaDepartment of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook University, 101 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, U.S.A.
Alison J BarkerMax Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Str 10, Berlin-Buch, 13092, Germany.
Nigel C BennettMammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa.
Miguel A Brieño-EnríquezDepartment of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Medicine, Magee-Womens Research Institute, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, U.S.A.
Gary N BronnerDepartment Biological Sciences, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.
Clive CoenReproductive Neurobiology, Division of Women's Health, School of Medicine, King's College London, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7EH, U.K.
Martha A DelaneyZoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois, 3505 Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building, 2001 S Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, IL, 6180, U.S.A.
Christine M Dengler-CrishDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, 4209 State Route 44, Rootstown, OH, 44272, U.S.A.
Yael H EdreyNorthwest Vista College, 3535 N. Ellison Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78251, U.S.A.
Chris G FaulkesSchool of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, U.K.
Daniel FrankelSchool of Engineering, Newcastle University, Merz Court, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, U.K.
Gerard FriedlanderUniversité Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine, 12 Rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, 5006, France.
Patrick A GibneyCornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY, 14853, U.S.A.
Vera GorbunovaDepartments of Biology, University of Rochester, 402 Hutchison Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, U.S.A.
Christopher HineCleveland Clinic, Lerner Research Institute, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, U.S.A.
Melissa M HolmesDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
Jennifer U M JarvisDepartment Biological Sciences, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.
Yoshimi KawamuraDepartment of Aging and Longevity Research, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-9864-7974
Nobuyuki KutsukakeDepartment of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, 240-0193, Japan.
Cynthia KenyonCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Walid T KhaledThe School of the Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, U.K.
Takefumi KikusuiCompanion Animal Research, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Sagamihara, 252-5201, Japan.
Joseph KissilDepartment of Cancer Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, FL, 33458, U.S.A.
Samantha LagesteeDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-9412-6859
John LarsonDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A.
Amanda LauerDepartment of Otolaryngology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, U.S.A.
Leonid A LavrenchenkoA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia.
Angela LeeGraduate Center City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, U.S.A.
Jonathan B LevittBiology Department, The City College of New York, 138th Street and Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, U.S.A.
Gary R LewinMax Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Str 10, Berlin-Buch, 13092, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2890-6352
Kaitlyn N Lewis HardellCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
TzuHua D LinCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Matthew J MasonThe School of the Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, U.K.ORCID 0000-0001-7845-0720
Dan McCloskeyCollege of Staten Island in the City University of New York, 2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY, 10314, U.S.A.
Mary McMahonCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Kyoko MiuraDepartment of Aging and Longevity Research, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto, 860-0811, Japan.
Kazutaka MogiCompanion Animal Research, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Sagamihara, 252-5201, Japan.
Vikram NarayanCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0002-6128-7944
Timothy P O'ConnorThe Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, U.S.A.
Kazuo OkanoyaDepartment of Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.
M Justin O'RiainDepartment Biological Sciences, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.
Thomas J ParkDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0002-2447-2948
Ned J PlaceCornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY, 14853, U.S.A.
Katie PodshivalovaCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Matthew E PamenterBiology Department, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
Sonja J PyottGroningen Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center, Postbus 30.001, Groningen, RB, 9700, The Netherlands.
Jane ReznickCologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University Hospital Cologne, Joseph-Stelzmann-Street 26, Cologne, 50931, Germany.
J Graham RubyCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Adam B SalmonBarshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health Science Center, 4939 Charles Katz Dr., San Antonio, TX, 78229, U.S.A.
Joseph Santos-SacchiDepartment of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 200 South Frontage Road, SHM C-303, New Haven, CT, 06510, U.S.A.
Diana K SarkoDepartment of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, 975 S. Normal, Carbondale, IL, 62901, U.S.A.
Andrei SeluanovDepartments of Biology, University of Rochester, 402 Hutchison Hall, Rochester, NY, 14627, U.S.A.
Alyssa ShepardDepartment of Cancer Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, FL, 33458, U.S.A.
Megan SmithCalico Life Sciences LLC, 1170 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, U.S.A.
Kenneth B StoreyDepartment of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
Xiao TianDepartment of Genetics - Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, U.S.A.
Emily N ViceDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, U.S.A.
Mélanie ViltardFondation pour la recherche en Physiologie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 30, Woluwe-saint Lambert, 1200, Belgium.
Akiyuki WataraiCompanion Animal Research, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Sagamihara, 252-5201, Japan.
Ewa WywialBiology Department, The City College of New York, 138th Street and Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, U.S.A.
Masanori YamakawaDepartment of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, 240-0193, Japan.
Elena D ZemlemerovaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia.
Michael ZionsGraduate Center City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, U.S.A.
Ewan St John SmithThe School of the Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, U.K.ORCID 0000-0002-2699-1979
San Francisco VA Medical Center · USUniversity of Illinois Chicago · USAzabu University · JPThe Graduate Center, CUNY · USUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Cape Town · ZACity College of New York · USCornell University · USKumamoto University · JPMax Delbrück Center · DEScripps Research Institute · USSevertsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution · RUThe Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI · JPUniversity of Rochester · USBoston VA Research Institute · USCarleton University · CACleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine · USCollege of Staten Island · USCologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases · DEDélégation Paris 5 · FR
Funding
The role of hyaluronan in longevity and cancer resistance of longest-lived rodentP01AG047200 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Vadim N. Gladyshev · 2014 to 2026
$36.9MTRANSGENIC COREP30AG013319 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI JAMES FLOYD NELSON · 1995 to 2026
$30.6MThe role of SIRT6 posttranslational modifications in aging and genome stability. Supplement: Testing SIRT6 activators as potential Alzheimer's disease therapy.R01AG027237 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Vera Gorbunova · 2006 to 2026
$6.2MRegulation of epigenome stability by SIRT6 during aging. Supplement: Does centenarian variant of SIRT6 or bowhead whale SIRT6 confer protection from Alzheimer's disease?R37AG046320 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Andrei Seluanov · 2019 to 2026
$4.7MNIMA-like Kinase NEK1 as a Regulator of Mammalian GametogenesisR00HD090289 · NICHD · MAGEE-WOMEN'S RES INST AND FOUNDATION · PI BRIENO-ENRIQUEZ, MIGUEL ANGEL · 2019 to 2021
$672kNIA NIH HHS P01 AG047200NIA NIH HHS P30 AG013319NIA NIH HHS R01 AG027237NIA NIH HHS R37 AG046320NICHD NIH HHS R00 HD090289
Abstract
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) has fascinated zoologists for at least half a century. It has also generated considerable biomedical interest not only because of its extraordinary longevity, but also because of unusual protective features (e.g. its tolerance of variable oxygen availability), which may be pertinent to several human disease states, including ischemia/reperfusion injury and neurodegeneration. A recent article entitled 'Surprisingly long survival of premature conclusions about naked mole-rat biology' described 28 'myths' which, those authors claimed, are a 'perpetuation of beautiful, but falsified, hypotheses' and impede our understanding of this enigmatic mammal. Here, we re-examine each of these 'myths' based on evidence published in the scientific literature. Following Braude et al., we argue that these 'myths' fall into four main categories: (i) 'myths' that would be better described as oversimplifications, some of which persist solely in the popular press; (ii) 'myths' that are based on incomplete understanding, where more evidence is clearly needed; (iii) 'myths' where the accumulation of evidence over the years has led to a revision in interpretation, but where there is no significant disagreement among scientists currently working in the field; (iv) 'myths' where there is a genuine difference in opinion among active researchers, based on alternative interpretations of the available evidence. The term 'myth' is particularly inappropriate when applied to competing, evidence-based hypotheses, which form part of the normal evolution of scientific knowledge. Here, we provide a comprehensive critical review of naked mole-rat biology and attempt to clarify some of these misconceptions.
Indexed as
LongevityMole RatsAnimalsBiologyageingcancerecologyeusocialityhypoxialongevitynaked mole-ratnociceptionthermoregulation
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