Green Options

Recently, researchers have performed large scale genetic analysis of DFTD tumor cells and have discovered many clues to the cause and nature of the cancer. After sequencing tumor cell genes and analyzing small pieces of genetic material known as microRNAs (miRNA), the team has determined that the cancer is a “single clonal cell line propagated as a tumor allograft” and is transmitted from devil to devil through biting. An “allograft” is a transplantation of cells (or tissue) from one (non-genetically [...]

The disease referred to as “a contagious cancer”, Devil Facial Tumor Disease, is decimating the population of Tasmanian Devils, leading experts to predict the extinction of the species in as little as 20 years.

Tasmanian devils have now been put on the Tasmanian endangered species list due to the decimation of the population by up to 70% in recent years.