naked mole rat

American  

noun

naked mole rats plural

1. a nearly hairless rodent, Heterocephalus glaber, of eastern African dry steppes and savannas, having two protruding upper and lower front teeth and living entirely underground in colonies, based on a single breeding female and specialized workers of both sexes.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• naked mole rats
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

naked mole rat

In humans and mice, cGAS can interfere with some forms of DNA repair, but the naked mole rat version appears to help cells repair DNA damage more effectively.

From Science Daily ● May 10, 2026

A new study of the bizarre naked mole rat shows that the animals have evolved a DNA repair mechanism that could explain their longevity.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025

A naked mole rat is seen in a display enclosure of a new building for small mammals, birds, carnivorous plants and insectivorous animals at the zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart.

From Salon ● May 11, 2025

He started in 2006 with the naked mole rat and has since photographed thousands more, including the Indochinese green magpie, the Arabian cobra, and the güiña, a small spotted cat from South America.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 28, 2023

If you expose mouse cells to DNA damage, they will get cancer; if you expose naked mole rat cells to the same damage, it’s going to be fixed.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 31, 2023