"pile, it has the following effect: At the end of a player's turn, he or she may choose to end the round by saying ""rat-a-tat-cat"". All other players get one more turn, and then everyone counts up their points. Any power cards are placed at the bottom of the deck and replaced with the top card. At the beginning of the game, the players decide how to win. They may either play for an agreed length of time or number of rounds, with the person with the fewest points at the end being the winner, or the game may be"
"of aging. One study found that the cells of short-living rodents ""in vitro"" show much greater mutation rates and a general lack of genome surveillance compared to human cells and are far more susceptible to oxidative stress. Other studies have been conducted on the naked mole rat, a rodent species with remarkable longevity (30 years), capable of outliving the brown rat (3 years) by ten-fold. Additionally, almost no incidence cancer has ever been detected in naked mole rats. Nearly all of the differences found between these two organisms, which are otherwise rather genetically similar, was in somatic maintenance. Naked mole"
"go a month or longer without drinking water. A thirsty Bactrian camel can drink 135 liters (30 gallons) in only 13 minutes. They can withstand extremely hot and cold weather and have broad hooves that do not sink in desert. Bactrian camels are known as the ""boats of desert"" – for millennia, they were used to carry goods along the Silk Road. Wild camels are critically endangered and found in the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts. The wild boar, from which the farm-raised pigs was domesticated some 8,000 years ago in China, remains common in the Chinese wilderness. On occasion, boars"
"Mammalian xerocoles sweat much less than their non-desert counterparts. For example, the camel can survive ambient temperatures as high as without sweating, and the kangaroo rat lacks sweat glands entirely. Both birds and mammals in the desert have oils on the surface of their skin to ""waterproof"" it and inhibit evaporation. Desert insects use a similar method, as their cuticles are waxy to prevent water from escaping; however, at critical temperatures (ex. for cockroaches), the wax molecules in the cuticle rearrange to become permeable and permit evaporative cooling. Amphibious xerocoles, such as species of the frog genus ""Phyllomedusa"", have wax-like"
"addax antelope, dik-dik, Grant's gazelle and oryx are so efficient at doing this that they apparently never need to drink. The camel is a superb example of a mammal adapted to desert life. It minimizes its water loss by producing concentrated urine and dry dung, and is able to lose 40% of its body weight through water loss without dying of dehydration. Carnivores can obtain much of their water needs from the body fluids of their prey. Many other hot desert animals are nocturnal, seeking out shade during the day or dwelling underground in burrows. At depths of more than"
"of water. The dromedary camel can drink as seldom as once every 10 days even under very hot conditions, and can lose up to 30% of its body mass due to dehydration. Unlike other mammals, camels' red blood cells are oval rather than circular in shape. This facilitates the flow of red blood cells during dehydration and makes them better at withstanding high osmotic variation without rupturing when drinking large amounts of water: a camel can drink of water in three minutes. Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water consumption that would kill most other animals."
"of carbohydrate produces 0.60 grams of water; a gram of protein produces 0.41 grams of water; and a gram of fat produces 1.07 grams of water, making it possible for xerocoles to live with little or no access to drinking water. The kangaroo rat for example makes use of this water of metabolism and conserves water both by having a low basal metabolic rate and by remaining underground during the heat of the day, reducing loss of water through its skin and respiratory system when at rest. Herbivorous mammals obtain moisture from the plants they eat. Species such as the"
"kidney occupies twice as much area as a cow's kidney. Secondly, renal corpuscles have a smaller diameter, which reduces surface area for filtration. These two major anatomical characteristics enable camels to conserve water and limit the volume of urine in extreme desert conditions. Camel urine comes out as a thick syrup, and camel faeces are so dry that they do not require drying when the Bedouins use them to fuel fires. The camels are able to live in difficult conditions without drinking water due to their ability to produce small and dry droppings as well as they use the water"
"domesticated Bactrian camel, it is one of the few mammals able to eat snow to provide itself with liquids in the winter. While the legend that camels store water in their stomachs is a misconception, they cannot survive without water for long periods but do have the capacity to conserve water. Wild Bactrian camels (""Camelus ferus"") appear similar to Bactrian camels (""Camelus bactrianus"") but the outstanding difference is genetic, with the two species having descended from two distinct ancestors. There are several differences in size and shape between the two species. The wild Bactrian camel is slightly smaller than the"
"European water vole The European water vole or northern water vole (""Arvicola amphibius"", included in synonymy: ""A. terrestris""), is a semiaquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair. In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years. Water voles reach in length, plus a tail which is about half the"
"to about 4500 feet. They live in areas of stony soils, including clays, gravel and rocks, which are harder than soils preferred by some other species like banner-tail kangaroo rats. Merriam's kangaroo rats live in hot and dry areas and so must conserve water. They do this in part by lowering their metabolic rate, which reduces loss of water through their skin and respiratory system. They obtain enough water from the metabolic oxidation of the seeds they eat to survive and do not need to drink water at all. Banner-tailed kangaroo rats generally live in grasslands and scrublands. They live"
"water every 10 to 15 days. In the hottest temperatures the dromedary takes water every four to seven days. This camel has a quick rate of rehydration and can drink at per minute. The dromedary has a rete mirabile, a complex of arteries and veins lying very close to each other which uses countercurrent blood flow to cool blood flowing to the brain. This effectively controls the temperature of the brain. The hump stores up to of fat, which the camel can break down into water and energy to meet its needs when resources are scarce; the hump also helps"
"fox and Rüppell's fox. The addax, a large white antelope, can go nearly a year in the desert without drinking. The dorcas gazelle is a north African gazelle that can also go for a long time without water. Other notable gazelles include the rhim gazelle and dama gazelle. The Saharan cheetah (northwest African cheetah) lives in Algeria, Togo, Niger, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso. There remain fewer than 250 mature cheetahs, which are very cautious, fleeing any human presence. The cheetah avoids the sun from April to October, seeking the shelter of shrubs such as balanites and acacias. They are"
"maintain their bodies' hydrated state without the need for drinking. The camels' thick coats insulate them from the intense heat radiated from desert sand; a shorn camel must sweat 50% more to avoid overheating. During the summer the coat becomes lighter in color, reflecting light as well as helping avoid sunburn. The camel's long legs help by keeping its body farther from the ground, which can heat up to . Dromedaries have a pad of thick tissue over the sternum called the ""pedestal"". When the animal lies down in a sternal recumbent position, the pedestal raises the body from the"
"is halfway in size between a camel and a llama and lacks a hump. It has ears intermediate between those of camels and llamas, longer legs than the llama, and partially cloven hooves. Like the mule, camas are sterile, despite both parents having the same number of chromosomes. The wild Bactrian camel (""C. ferus"") separated from the domestic Bactrian camel (""C. bactrianus"") about 1 million years ago. The earliest known camel, called ""Protylopus"", lived in North America 40 to 50 million years ago (during the Eocene). It was about the size of a rabbit and lived in the open woodlands"
"with a small group of rats in each nest. Brown rats prefer to live at ground level or below. They congregate in colonies of 30 to 50 rats. Rats live to from their food source. The rat can squeeze through holes or gaps the size of a quarter (), because unlike many mammals its skull is not plated together so it can change the shape of its head and squeeze through a very small opening. They are able to leap laterally and can fall five floors without any injuries. An adult rat can tread water for three days. They typically"
"rat lacks pain sensitivity in its skin, and has very low metabolic and respiratory rates. While formerly considered to belong to the same family as other African mole-rats, Bathyergidae, more recent investigation places it in a separate family, Heterocephalidae. The naked mole-rat is also remarkable for its longevity and its resistance to cancer and oxygen deprivation. Typical individuals are long and weigh . Queens are larger and may weigh well over , the largest reaching . They are well-adapted to their underground existence. Their eyes are quite small, and their visual acuity is poor. Their legs are thin and short;"
"litres per day. The Bactrian camel produces 5 litres per day and the dromedary produces an average of 20 litres per day. Intensive breeding of cows has created animals that can produce 40 litres per day in ideal conditions. Camels, with their ability to go 21 days without drinking water, and produce milk even when feeding on low-quality fodder, are a sustainable option for food security in difficult environments. Cheese from camel milk is more difficult to make than cheese from the milk of other dairy animals. It does not coagulate easily and bovine rennet fails to coagulate the milk"
"even when ambient temperatures reach . Any sweat that does occur evaporates at the skin level rather than at the surface of their coat; the heat of vaporization therefore comes from body heat rather than ambient heat. Camels can withstand losing 25% of their body weight to sweating, whereas most other mammals can withstand only about 12–14% dehydration before cardiac failure results from circulatory disturbance. When the camel exhales, water vapor becomes trapped in their nostrils and is reabsorbed into the body as a means to conserve water. Camels eating green herbage can ingest sufficient moisture in milder conditions to"
"Rakali Hydromys chrysogaster, commonly known as rakali, rabe or water-rat, is an Australian native rodent first described in 1804. The change to the aboriginal name Rakali was intended to foster a positive public attitude by Environment Australia. It is the only member of the genus ""Hydromys"" with a range extending beyond Papua New Guinea and Indonesian West Papua. Having effectively adapted and colonised a unique niche of semiaquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, this species lives in burrows on the banks of rivers, lakes and estuaries and feeds on aquatic insects, fish, crustaceans, mussels, snails, frogs, birds' eggs and water birds. Rakali"
"an annual survival rate slightly less than 50% per year for the first three years, and somewhat higher thereafter. The maximum recorded age is 8 years 10 months. Water rails are omnivorous, although they mainly feed on animals. These include leeches, worms, gastropods, small crustaceans, spiders, and a wide range of both terrestrial and aquatic insects and their larvae. Small vertebrates such as amphibians, fish, birds and mammals may be killed or eaten as carrion. Vertebrates are impaled with a strike of the bill which breaks the prey's spinal cord. Plant food, which is consumed more in autumn and winter,"
"mole-rat (""Spalax golani"") and the Judean Mountains blind mole-rat (""Spalax judaei"") are also resistant to cancer, but by a different mechanism. The naked mole-rat is also of interest because it is extraordinarily long-lived for a rodent of its size (up to 32 years) and holds the record for the longest living rodent. The mortality rate of the species does not increase with age, and thus does not conform to that of most mammals (as frequently defined by the Gompertz-Makeham law of mortality). Naked mole-rats are highly resistant to cancer and maintain healthy vascular function longer in their lifespan than shorter-living"
"mole-rat is a long-lived (32 years) rodent. As reviewed by Lewis et al., (2013), levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the naked mole rat are similar to that of another rodent, the relatively short-lived mouse (4 years). They concluded that it is not oxidative stress that modulates health-span and longevity in these rodents, but rather other cytoprotective mechanisms that allow animals to deal with high levels of oxidative damage and stress. In the naked mole-rat, a likely important cytoprotective mechanism that could provide longevity assurance is elevated expression of DNA repair genes involved in several key DNA repair"
", these remain at between regardless of the external temperature. Jerboas, desert rats, kangaroo rats and other small rodents emerge from their burrows at night and so do the foxes, coyotes, jackals and snakes that prey on them. Kangaroos keep cool by increasing their respiration rate, panting, sweating and moistening the skin of their forelegs with saliva. Mammals living in cold deserts have developed greater insulation through warmer body fur and insulating layers of fat beneath the skin. The arctic weasel has a metabolic rate that is two or three times as high as would be expected for an animal"
"Feeding occurs in fits and starts of movement and at relatively discrete locations, with an average distance of ~7 m (22 ft.) between stops. Most kangaroo rat species live in arid environments and are known for their ability to make use of metabolic water rather than requiring it from the environment. While the desert kangaroo rats do consume available water, the vast majority of their water requirements are met from byproducts of metabolic processes. Adaptation to very low quantities of water (free or metabolic) is highlighted by the very long water turnover times for the species, on the order of"
"largely feed on dry seeds. Kangaroo rats have no need to drink because they are able to extract sufficient water from metabolising their food, obtaining half a gram of water from each gram of seeds eaten. They carry most of the seeds they find back to their burrows in exterior cheek folds lined with fur rather than in cheek pouches inside the mouth as do hamsters. This is because carrying the food in the mouth would involve wetting it and moisture needs to be conserved as much as possible in dry environments. Most species store the seeds they gather in"
"and has less nutritional content per gram than meat so more must be eaten to meet the lizard's metabolic needs. Unlike mammals, reptile kidneys cannot concentrate urine to save on water intake. Instead reptiles excrete toxic nitrogenous wastes as solid uric acid through their cloaca. In the case of the rock iguana which consumes large amounts of vegetation, these excess salt ions are excreted through their salt gland in the same manner as birds. The record for the longest lived captive-born rock iguana is held by a Lesser Caymans iguana, which lived for 33 years in captivity. A blue iguana"
"naked mole-rat is well adapted to the limited availability of oxygen within the tunnels of its typical habitat. It has underdeveloped lungs and its hemoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen, increasing the efficiency of oxygen uptake. It has a very low respiration and metabolic rate for an animal of its size, about 70% that of a mouse, thus using oxygen minimally. In response to long periods of hunger, its metabolic rate can be reduced by up to 25 percent. The naked mole-rat survives for at least 5 hours in air that contains only 5% oxygen; it does not show"
"part of a threat display when agitated. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals; however, several species or breeds have considerably reduced amounts of fur. These are often called ""naked"" or ""hairless"". Some mammals naturally have reduced amounts of fur. Some semiaquatic or aquatic mammals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds and hippopotamuses have evolved hairlessness, presumably to reduce resistance through water. The naked mole-rat has evolved hairlessness, perhaps as an adaptation to their subterranean life-style. Two of the largest extant mammals, the elephant and the rhinoceros, are largely hairless. The hairless bat is mostly hairless but does have short"
"is true. The osmolality in the plasma is lower than the surrounding water, which is dehydrating for the animal. The cloacal urine is much more concentrated, white, and opaque, with the nitrogenous waste being mostly excreted as insoluble uric acid. Crocodilians are amphibious reptiles, spending part of their time in water and part on land. The last surviving fully terrestrial genus, ""Mekosuchus"", became extinct about 3000 years ago after humans had arrived on its Pacific islands, making the extinction possibly anthropogenic. Typically they are creatures of the tropics; the main exceptions are the American and Chinese alligators, whose ranges extend"
"as low as −40 °C in winter to 40 °C in summer. The camels’ distribution is linked to the availability of water, with large groups congregating near rivers after rain or at the foot of the mountains, where water can be obtained from springs in the summer months, and in the form of snow during the winter. Bactrian camels are exceptionally adept at withstanding wide variations in temperature, ranging from freezing cold to blistering heat. They have a remarkable ability to go without water for months at a time, but when water is available they may drink up to 57"
"(BMR). Rats, which have a high BMR, sleep for up to 14 hours a day, whereas elephants and giraffes, which have lower BMRs, sleep only 3–4 hours per day. It has been suggested that mammalian species which invest in longer sleep times are investing in the immune system, as species with the longer sleep times have higher white blood cell counts. Mammals born with well-developed regulatory systems, such as the horse and giraffe, tend to have less REM sleep than the species which are less developed at birth, such as cats and rats. This appears to echo the greater need"
"""R. norvegicus"" which average a lifespan of less than one year. However, wild rats generally have larger brains, hearts, livers, kidneys, and adrenal glands than laboratory rats. The fancy rat and wild rat also both face a multitude of differing health concerns; the former is at risk of developing a pneumococcal infection from exposure to humans, while the latter may harbor tapeworms after coming in contact with carriers like cockroaches and fleas. Generally speaking, rats are quite sociable and function best with at least one cage mate. It is generally ill-advised to keep a single rat unless there are severe"