Overview

• In naked mole-rats, cGAS was observed to promote the repair of broken DNA strands, whereas in humans the same protein hampers that process.
• The authors suggest this mechanism could help explain the animals’ unusual resistance to age-related disorders such as cancer, arthritis, and neurodegeneration.
• The research was conducted by a team at Tongji University in Shanghai and published in the journal Science.
• Cambridge researcher Gabriel Balmuș said understanding or replicating this biology could open paths to future therapies, while noting more work is needed.
• Naked mole-rats live nearly 40 years—far longer than mice—and the findings drew international coverage from outlets including the BBC and DER SPIEGEL.