Since early June, I’ve been working at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (MPIBR) in Frankfurt, Germany. Almost a year ago, I was rejected from a German fellowship program that would allow me to work at a Max Planck Society institute, but I was somehow able to stumble my way back into it. And this place is so badass, even though most days I feel like the institute’s resident toddler.
I am working with naked mole-rats, arguably the most incredible mammal in the world, although I am very biased. Also known as sand puppies, naked mole-rats were the first eusocial mammal to be discovered, and they are one of only two known eusocial mammals, the other being the closely related Damaraland mole-rat. They can live for at least five hours in an atmosphere containing 5% oxygen, and about 18 minutes with ZERO oxygen, which is due to their hemoglobin evolving to have increased oxygen uptake to survive in underground tunnels! Naked mole-rats FEEL NO PAIN when exposed to acid or capsaicin. Their teeth, which they use to dig dirt tunnels, are OUTSIDE OF THEIR MOUTHS. They are virtually IMMUNE TO CANCER. They can live up to 37 YEARS. Every mole-rat has a SPECIFIC COLONY ROLE. They evolved ways to AVOID GENETIC MUTATION FROM INBREEDING. The list goes on…
But as you know, I have dedicated almost my entire time at MIT (God…almost four years…) to the neural basis of language, specifically perception and production, which I blindly stumbled into my freshman year because it was the first UROP that took a chance on me. So, at MPIBR I’ve been investigating whether the naked mole-rats eusociality is represented in their auditory cortex, as well as doing some behavioral investigation on noise interference and antiphonality. And you may be wondering, what does any of this have to do with a naked mole-rat in particular?
THEY HAVE 20+ KNOWN VOCALIZATIONS. LITERAL CHIRPS LIKE SONGBIRDS. THEY HAVE VOCALIZATIONS FOR GOING TO THE TOILET, MATING, ALERTING TO DANGER, ANNOUNCING THAT THEY HAVE FOUND FOOD, BEING PISSED OFF, AND SIMPLY CHATTING!
And these aren’t ultrasonic vocalizations, they are AUDIBLE TO THE HUMAN EAR. And they USE THEM TO COMMUNICATE THEIR COLONY AFFILIATION AND HIERARCHICAL STATUS.
I would add citations but just trust me.
If that’s not enough to convince you that they are the absolute greatest mammal in the world, they also look like this, and they are incredibly docile and funny critters. Unlike mice, which are often evil and like to bite me.
Isn’t he ADORABLE!
This summer I’ve learned that systems neuroscience is very hard and also that working with animals is very hard and often sad, especially when the animal is so cool. I’ve also learned about the PhD/Post-doc life, which is…something.
I’ve also learned about another very cool thing, which is DEUTSCHLAND (Germany).
I came to Germany speaking zero German, and German I is a requirement to be able to come to Germany (I did not take German I). So you best believe I did Duolingo on the plane. And I learned one (1) phrase. “Bier und Wien bitte”. And honestly, that phrase has taken me far.
All things considered, I have learned a lot of German in the past few months, even though many Germans speak great English. I can order food for myself, talk about the weather, say hello to dogs, commit fare evasion on the train (JK…), and tell someone I like their shoes. If I need to do anything else I just hit them with the “Ich kann kein Deutsch” (I don’t know German) and then the German will loudly go “ACH SO” and start talking in English.
Germans are very funny people. They get such a bad rap because they are very direct, like to stare, diligently wait for the crosswalk sign to turn green, hate athleisure, and eat raw beef sandwiches, but I like their energy.
I’ve also been to a lot of other places! So far, I’ve been to Heidelburg, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, Milan, and Amsterdam, and next weekend I am going to France. I would attach pictures but I am too lazy, so just imagine really beautiful European lakes, towns, cities, bridges, etc.
Blogging has been hard for me lately because I feel very old and tired. I’ve been asked by so many of the underclassmen bloggers why I don’t blog so much anymore, and I always tell them that I feel like the highest-density blogging comes from underclassmen and not the crusty people. I also tell them that I feel like the more I do “blog-worthy” things the less I want to talk about them. But I feel like this is a cool thing but more importantly I want to show you guys the mole-rats. This blog is for them.
If you are interested in the lab I am working for, which is filled with some of the most incredible scientists and kind-hearted people I have ever met, you can go here!