Hearing loss in naked mole-rats is an advantage, not a hardship
Thursday, September 3, 2020 - 14:10
in Biology & Nature
If naked mole-rats were human, they would be prescribed hearing aids. With six mutations in genes associated with hearing, naked mole-rats can barely hear the constant squeaking they use to communicate with one another. This hearing loss, which is strange for such social, vocal animals, is an adaptive, beneficial trait, according to new findings published in the journal Current Biology.