One of naked mole rats' claims to fame is their high pain tolerance when in contact with acid or high heat. These tough critters couldn't take the sting of wasabi like their furrier cousins, highveld mole rats, however.

Mole Rats Can’t Feel Wasabi’s Painful Kick, Hydrochloric Acid Burns or Hardly Any Pain at All

And studying the impervious critters might help scientists figure out new ways to treat pain in humans

The squirrels measure up to 36 inches from head to tail

Yes, Giant Technicolor Squirrels Actually Roam the Forests of Southern India

The colorful creatures can measure up to three feet long from head to tail and weigh in at around four pounds

The team's findings could have implications for the treatment of human communication disorders

Meet the Singing Mice of Central America

The vocal critters could help scientists better understand the mechanics of human conversation

Trending Today

Chubby Rat Stuck in Manhole Cover Rescued by Fearless Firefighters

It took eight volunteer firefighters to pop the overweight rodent out of a vent in the sewer cover

New Research

Scientists Use AI to Decode the Ultrasonic Language of Rodents

The DeepSqueak software translates the high-pitched communication into sonograms, which can be analyzed to determine what mice and rats are saying

Urban rats appeared to enjoy a steady diet of high-quality food, including protein-rich meat, while rural rats struggled to get by on limited, often meat-free meals

Urban Rats Enjoy Richer, More Reliable Diet Than Their Rural Counterparts

Researchers analyzed the remains of 86 brown rats that roamed Toronto between 1790 and 1890

Urban cats are more likely to hunt down birds, mice than rats

Cats Are Surprisingly Bad at Killing Rats

Over a 79-day period, feral felines killed just two rats, instead opting to hunt less challenging prey

Sometimes, it's okay to skip leg day.

For Men, Gains in the Gym May Come at a Cost to Sperm

There might be a tradeoff between how strong men look and sperm count

Two tacos, extra ghost pepper sauce, please!

New Research

Tree Shrews Love Hot Peppers Because They Don’t Feel the Burn

A genetic mutation prevents Chinese tree shrews from feeling the heat of capsaicin, making them the only other mammal besides humans that enjoys hot foods

If you've waited this long for it, it must be good, right?

Both Mice and Men Struggle to Abandon Their Best-Laid Plans

Rodents suffer from the same sunk cost fallacy that makes it so hard for humans to call it quits

New Research

Coral Reefs Need Fewer Rats and More Bird Poo

A study of rat-infested islands in the Chagos show that a lack of seabirds—and their guano—degrades surrounding coral ecosystems

Painting of four species of rat, including the Polynesian rat (right).

New Research

Rat Bones Reveal How Humans Transformed Their Island Environments

Rodent remains prove an ideal tool for investigating changes on three Polynesian island chains

The South Georgia pipit has been one of the hardest-hit species by the island's rodent population. The government announced Monday that the island is now rodent free.

South Georgia Island Is Officially Free of Its Bird-Killing Rodents

After 250 years plagued with rats and mice, the island’s birds will hopefully now have the chance to bounce back

For all their flaws, lab mice have become an invaluable research model for genetics, medicine, neuroscience and more. But few people know the story of the first standardized lab mice.

Women Who Shaped History

The History of Breeding Mice for Science Begins With a Woman in a Barn

Far more than a mouse fancier, Abbie Lathrop helped establish the standard mouse model and pioneered research into cancer inheritance

California Is Asking Residents to Report Sightings of Giant, Invasive Rodents

Nutria breed prolifically and they are absolute menaces

Old Age Doesn’t Seem to Kill Naked Mole Rats

The wrinkly rodents are as likely to die at the age of 1 as they are at 25, according to a new study

Animals like prairie dogs can play host to plague-infected fleas.

Trending Today

Plague Infects Three People in New Mexico

The deadly disease can be spread by household pets

Feuding Iguanas and Giant Rodents Rule This Cuban Island

In the Jardines de la Reina, an archipelago in the southern part of Cuba, two species have managed to co-exist in not-quite-harmony

Nearly blind, Typhlomys cinereus thrives in the high forests of southeastern China and Vietnam—with a little help from another sense.

New Research

This Echolocating Dormouse Could Reveal the Origins of One of Nature’s Coolest Superpowers

Mice, moths and even humans use clicks and echoes to “see” the world around them

New Research

Diet Deficiency Can Lead to Cannibal Hamsters

A new study may explain why the rodents are declining in western Europe

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