What this little animal lacks in beauty it makes up for in resistance, this is the naked mole rat, that small African rodent with an unusual appearance, it lives almost four decades without showing serious signs of aging. Now, researchers at Tongji University in Shanghai may have discovered why.

According to the study, the answer lies in four tiny amino acid changes that transform the way this animal repairs its own DNA, functioning as a true genetic toolbox. which prevents cell death and keeps organs young for much longer.

The focus is and an enzyme called cGAS, responsible for detecting DNA damage, in humans tends to inhibit the natural repair of cells, however, in the naked mole rat, these four mutations do the opposite. cGAS activates a powerful mechanism for correcting genetic defects, stabilizing the genome and delaying cellular aging.

It is as if this rodent's body had learned to repair its mistakes before they became irreversible. To test this, the scientists inserted the naked mole rat's cGAS into human and mouse cells. The result was impressive. The cells began to regenerate faster and show fewer signs of aging.

In mice the effect was even more evident, the aged animals became stronger, less fragile, with healthier fur and more functional organs for longer. In other words, the stripped mole rat has a version of the cGAS enzyme that blocks senescence, the slow death of cells, and keeps the body in balance, almost as if it had a natural defense against time.

This opens the door to a question that shakes modern biology. Would it be possible to copy this mechanism and apply it to humans? Scientists believe so, at least in theory. The biological similarities between us and naked mole rats suggest that we might one day adapt this gene editing to boost our own cellular repair and prolong the body's natural health. But they also warn, it is still early, aging is a complex process and DNA is only one of the pieces of this puzzle, inflammation, hormones and metabolism also play an important role; Still, the discovery reinforces an idea that has fascinated science for decades. Will we one day achieve Immortality?