Face Cancer Killing Many Tasmanian devils

Boston (DbTechNo) – Researchers from the country of Australia have stumbled across the genetic origin that is threatening to wipe out the Tasmanian devils species.

The marsupials are very prone to a type of facial cancer, one that is so devistating that when it is diagnosed in an animal, they can not eat and virtually starve to death because of their tumor.

This devistating facial tumor was first reported in the devils back in 1996, and since then has resulted in the death of thousands of the marsupial carnivores.

For their research, the team from Australian National University compared the genes from healthy and sick devils,, looking for any abnormalities.

They noted that the cancer in the sick animals came from cells part of a protective layer that wraps around nerves to protect them.

“It’s a uniquely horrible cancer, and it is critical to know about it at the genetic level,” Professor Jenny Graves said.

“It has wiped out around 60 percent of the world’s devils and is likely to lead to their extinction in the wild within 30 to 50 years.”

The researchers say that now that they have identified where the cancer comes from, the next step is to use that new information to find a cure for the disease.

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