Tasmanian devils and cancer provide new insights into the evolution of sex- fascinating read

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-06-08/transmissible-cancer-tasmanian-devils-evolution-of-sex/11183112?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=%5bspecialist_sfmc_13_06_19_science%5d%3a125&user_id=5831aae032b1ff365b0d4914409d6d9ff3eae5a52a6e11e4036af6ee43546020&WT.tsrc=email&WT.mc_id=Email%7c%5bspecialist_sfmc_13_06_19_science%5d%7c125story_1_headline
<snip>
For 50 years we have known that it makes sense to have sex sometimes.

Sometimes, in this case, doesn't mean a cheeky once-a-month; it means only having sex once every few generations — like the cockroach, who can be chaste for generations on end.

An occasional dalliance, evolutionarily speaking, provides a useful shuffling of genes between individuals.

But why is sex the go-to reproductive strategy for so many creatures? Why are most animals obligated to get it on to produce offspring?

One possible answer has been put forward by a team of ecologists, evolutionary biologists and cancer researchers: sex may have evolved to combat transmissible cancer.
"Cancer has shaped the ecology and evolution of wildlife for thousands and millions of years," said Rodrigo Hamede of the University of Tasmania, co-author of a recent paper on the subject in PLOS Biology.