Tasmanian devils 'adapting to coexist with cancer'

Source: BBC

Tasmanian devils 'adapting to coexist with cancer'

By Beth Timmins
BBC News

30 March 2019

There's fresh hope for the survival of endangered Tasmanian devils after large numbers were killed off by facial tumours.

The world's largest carnivorous marsupials have been battling Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) for over 20 years.

But researchers have found the animals' immune system to be modifying to combat the assault.

And according to an international team of scientists from Australia, UK, US and France, the future for the devils is now looking brighter.

"In the past, we were managing devil populations to avoid extinction. Now, we are progressively moving to an adaptive management strategy, enhancing those selective adaptations for the evolution of devil/DFTD coexistence," explains Dr Rodrigo Hamede, from the University of Tasmania.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47659640


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