The naked mole rat is one of the oddities of the animal world. The protruding front teeth and pale wrinkly skin of the burrowing animal make it seem like it belongs more in a freak show than in the lab of a cancer researcher. According to Science magazine, though, new discoveries are making scientists believe that studying the genome of the naked mole rat may bring to light new weapons in the fight against cancer in humans.
Not only does the naked mole rat have an extraordinarily long life span- up to 28 years in some cases, but the odd animal seems to be immune to cancer. In contrast to lab rats and mice, which routinely develop cancer as they pass into old age, the naked mole rat remains cancer-free.
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The glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are melting at a pace that will eliminate them in only a few decades, and global climate change may be to blame.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a study this week that details recent work done by Ohio State University glaciologist Lonnie Thompson.
Thompson reports that the summit lost 80 percent of its ice between 1912 and 2007. Ice loss has been especially drastic in recent years.
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The first hotel planned to be in space, Galactic Suite, expects to open for business in 2012. The pricy accommodation would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes.
The Barcelona-based architects say the space hotel will be the most expensive in the known galaxy, costing $4 million for a three-day stay. During that time, guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.
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