"Goo" from naked mole rat appears to offer cancer protection

[Ellipsis]

Source: CBS

Scientists have identified a chemical that they say prevents the notoriously ugly rodent with a long lifespan from developing cancer. They hope the substance could one day lead to effective cancer treatments in humans.

"A lot of cancer research focuses on animals that are prone to cancer," study author Vera Gorbunova, a biology professor at the University of Rochester in N.Y., said in a news release. "We think it's possible to learn strategies for preventing tumors by studying animals that are cancer-proof."

Naked mole rats are buck-teethed, bald, wrinkly rodents that live to an average age of 30, decades longer than other rodents. The creature has been found to have an innate resistance to cancer and pain, and can survive in underground conditions with little oxygen.

For the new study, the biologists took cellular samples from naked mole rats searching for clues to their cancer resistance. That's when they discovered a gooey substance clogging up their equipment. That was a red flag, because other cell cultures from humans and other rodents like mice and guinea pigs lack that viscosity

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57590127/goo-from-naked-mole-rat-appears-to-offer-cancer-protection/

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[kickysnana]

1. This is why living a really, really long time never appealled to me

[RBInMaine]

2. Looks just like Strom Thurmond. Must have been why he lived so long. :-)

[Baitball Blogger]

3. White and wrinkly?

[baldguy]

5. Give him a bad toupee & a cheap suit & you'd have a GOP Congressional candidate!

[BootinUp]

6. Looking at the picture, maybe its just one big cancer tumor.

[kickysnana]

7. HaHa Could be. n/t

[Poll_Blind]

10. Hey, God stole those from Fallout 3!

PB

[Ian David]

4. So many typos in that article. n/t

[JAbuchan08]

8. sounds like the cure may be worse than the disease

Just kidding, I hope this leads to a cure, or at least a treatment.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Do they dip you in goo?