[4] The species name, ehrenbergi, honors German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, who conducted significant research throughout the Middle East in the 19th century.

[6] In 2001, four new Nannospalax species (then classified within Spalax) endemic to geographical regions within Israel, Palestine and the Golan Heights were described based on chromosome divergence by a team of researchers led by Eviatar Nevo.

[11] In a 2013 study, data on N. ehrenbergi resistance to cancer was documented:[13] -No spontaneous tumors have ever been noticed in blind mole rat, based on observing thousands of individuals along half a century.

[13] -Inducing cancer with chemical carcinogens that lead to 100% of the expected tumors in mice and rats after 2–6 months, respectively, indicate an extraordinary cancer resistance of Spalax: Only 2 out of 12 animals, and old ones (>10 years old; Spalax can live ~>20 years; 5 times longer than its evolutionary relative, the rat) developed the expected tumor with one of the carcinogens and only after 18 and 30 months.

[15] Studies on the growth of fibroblasts in vitro of N. judaei and N. golani showed that the process of necrosis replaces the role of the systematic apoptosis normally used in most organisms.

Generally low-oxygen conditions, such as those common in blind mole rats’ burrows, usually cause cells to undergo apoptosis.

Observing the dirt displaced by burrowing mole rats can help archaeologists decide where to dig, since it often contains small artifacts like potsherds.