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Can naked mole rats solve autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia? || EXPERIMENTALS: Moles (part 1)

Naked mole rats look like walking steamed spring rolls (with tails). But, beneath their translucent skin, they have a 35 million year old superpower: they are super carbon dioxide breathers (trust us, they’re joining the Avengers). And it’s not like they simply tolerate CO2—the way you might suffer through the exhaust pouring from a tailpipe.…

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7 years ago

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Naked mole rats look like walking steamed spring rolls (with tails). But, beneath their translucent skin, they have a 35 million year old superpower: they are super carbon dioxide breathers (trust us, they’re joining the Avengers). And it’s not like they simply tolerate CO2—the way you might suffer through the exhaust pouring from a tailpipe. They need it. And, they need a lot of it. Imagine an eight-by-eight elevator packed with 1,100 people—that’s the level of CO2 a nest full of mole rats need in order to survive. The question is: HOW? Because naked mole rats are mammals just like us. It should be toxic to them, but… it isn’t. It’s actually had a ton of benefits for them: CO2 has shaped their eusocial, insect-like society and might explain their long lives and resistance to cancer. The answer to all of this lies in a genetic mutation. It’s a genetic mutation only two mammals have: mole rats and humans. And, unlocking that code in these little hairless wonders could one day solve certain forms of autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia in us. Dr. Dan McCloskey and his colony of 300 naked mole rats at CUNY College of Staten Island are trying to figure out this naked mole rat sized mystery.

for more Popular Science on YouTube ►►

*This is part one of a two part EXPERIMENTALS episode on “moles.” Part two (coming soon) is about THE MOLE—as in 6.02214076×10^23, the unit in chemistry used to count really really tiny stuff like atoms and molecules. Well, THE MOLE has changed. To show you how, we’ll count atoms inside one of the world’s most perfect spheres at the National Institute of Standards and Technology outside of Washington, D.C.

In the meantime, watch the first EXPERIMENTALS episode . Nature’s math equation. And finding Captain Nemo (in which we discover the lost, first underwater film… it involves sharks and horses… obviously).

***
VIDEO BY : Tom McNamara
ANIMATION : Jason Drakeford
MAGICIAN : Erin Chapman
ONLINE DIRECTOR : Amy Schellenbaum
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF : Joe Brown

MEDIA
Audioblocks
Fleischer Superman cartoons (1941-43)
Dr. Lloyd Glenn Ingles, California Academy of Sciences
Internet Archive
“Looking Around” (1952), Wellcome Collection
“Scientists Amazed By the Mole Rat’s Bizarre Behavior” (1984), The New York Times
Library of Congress
Pond5
Shutterstock
Wikimedia Commons

SPECIAL THANKS
300 naked mole rats
CUNY College of Staten Island
CUNY Office of Research
Margherita Sansone
Dr. Dan McCloskey
McCloskey Lab

#molerat #nakedmolerat #autism #epilepsy #schizophrenia #baby #infant #science #brain #biology #seizure #popularscience #popsci #research #new #groundbreaking #mystery #mysteries #sciencemysteries #kidscience #kidsci #animation #animals #weird #weirdanimal #weirdanimals #health #infanthealth #eusocial #gueenmolerat #nakedmoleratqueen #Heterocephalusglaber #cancer #DanMcCloskey #McCloskeyLab #CUNY #StatenIsland #rodents #unusal #genes #Carbondioxide #oxygen

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14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. Ultraman's Inspirational Recipes

    March 27, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    It looks like a nice tempura batter would work best here. What oil temperature would you folks recommend?

    Reply

  2. Andy & Adrian Movie Challenge

    March 27, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    Put some clothes on these god damn mole rats.

    Reply

  3. DarkSpectriality

    March 28, 2019 at 2:11 pm

    Hamsters are better imo xD

    Reply

    • Popular Science

      March 28, 2019 at 2:13 pm

      PopSci doesn’t play favorites with rodents!

      Reply

  4. Ryan Perry

    March 28, 2019 at 2:20 pm

    Not all heroes wear capes! (Some are extremely naked.)

    Reply

  5. Erin Chapman

    March 28, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    Can’t decide whether they’re nightmare fodder or adorable. Either way, WHOA to their superpowers. Super interesting research.

    Reply

  6. DarkSpectriality

    March 28, 2019 at 4:09 pm

    0:18 Dark Web? HmHMHMmmHm *FBI wants to know your location*

    Reply

  7. Shane Fuson

    March 30, 2019 at 2:16 am

    So, having tunnels between plastic bins with some popcorn is the same as being underground? How do you know their behaviors are not natural because of being in this type environment?

    Reply

    • Popular Science

      April 15, 2019 at 3:47 pm

      Good question! The most important part is that the researchers have ensured that the air quality is the same in the bins/tubes as they’ve observed and documented in the wild. They’ve also provided similar nest building materials in the bins so they’re just as active.

      Reply

  8. Drew Denega

    March 30, 2019 at 11:29 am

    Why would you subject them to eighteen minutes without oxygen?

    Reply

  9. Kombizz Kashani

    April 6, 2019 at 8:18 am

    Amazing research about this small creature with finding more about their society which might resemble to our society !

    Reply

  10. optimous maximous

    May 24, 2019 at 11:39 pm

    One dislike lol

    Reply

  11. Melting Doggo

    May 28, 2019 at 11:00 pm

    I love Naked Mole Rats ❤️❤️❤️

    Reply

  12. Galexy Gamer

    May 30, 2019 at 4:54 am

    I was watching this while playing fallout 4 lol

    Reply

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Popular Science

Americans loved drinking radioactive ‘miracle water’ in 1920s

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The Radioactive “Miracle Water” That Killed Its Believers

If you lived in the 1920s, you might have found a pamphlet advertising “the greatest therapeutic force known to mankind.” Radithor was a tiny bottle of clear, colorless water that claimed to cure acne, anemia, heart disease, poison ivy, impotence, asthma, and any other malady you could imagine. There was only one side effect: DEATH.…

Published

2 weeks ago

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March 27, 2026

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If you lived in the 1920s, you might have found a pamphlet advertising “the greatest therapeutic force known to mankind.” Radithor was a tiny bottle of clear, colorless water that claimed to cure acne, anemia, heart disease, poison ivy, impotence, asthma, and any other malady you could imagine.

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Host: Annie Colbert
Reported by: April White
Editing and graphics by Avital Oehler
Written and produced by Matt Silverman

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