The difference between a human and a naked mole rat? Genetically, not much, says College of Staten Island Associate Professor Dan McCloskey, whose focus is social neuroscience. Thirty-five million years ago mole rats started to burrow underground, leading to a social system in which a queen did most of the breeding and the rest of the animals worked. “Re-creating a day in the life” of these mole rats can teach us more about humans and the brain, McCloskey says.