Naked Mole-Rats Are Now Even Weirder: Without Oxygen, They Live Like Plants

Naked mole-rats are marvelous and bizarre rodents, arguably the world's weirdest mammals. The East African critters do not get tumors. They're immune to types of chronic pain and the irritant in chili peppers. They live like social insects, in 300-strong underground colonies where a mole-rat queen gives birth to worker children (the offspring themselves will never bear young).

"Naked Mole-Rats Are Now Even Weirder: Without Oxygen, They Live Like Plants" is from the April 20, 2017 Health & Science section of The Washington Post. It was written by Ben Guarino  and narrated by Jill Melancon.