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I know there will be strong reactions to this article, or rather the pictures, so therefor I warn you!
I have to warn sensitive readers. There might be pictures that can be grouse, terrible, gore and extreme or severe disfiguration.
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Today when I watched Nat Geo Wild channel around 18.00 they talked about the tasmanian devils and the cancer no one knew where it came from. The pictures are horrifying! Imagine yourself full of tumors coming out from everywhere: eye sockets, mouth, broken yaws from fighting. The list could go on for ever.
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The scientists first thought of poisoning from farms, extermination poisoning and plant poisoning. But the last place they found tasmanian devils with this cancer was miles away form closest farm. So poisoning doesn't seem to be the cause. Most people see this beautiful animal as a desease and a plague, and therefor it has to go. But the tasmanian devil is protected by law, therefor poisoning happens in the dark.
Is it a virus? There is nothing called cancervirus, but a virus can cause mutation. A problem is that scientist doesn't know how the devils immunrespons works. Checking the blood showed them that they had the right amount of white blood cells.
Cancer is not contageous like a virus might be. But yet several devils have come down with the desease.
Cell implantation came up as one of the ideas of how this desease spreds. But how does that work? The scientist coming up with this idea got it from when she walked her dog. Her dog had an argument with another dog and they locked yaws. That's how the idea of cell implantation started. Since the devils eat what ever they can get.
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Scientists looked at the cromosomes in the cancer cells, and they looked like they where the same cromosome. All looked like clones of each other. Another thought emerged. Could it be a mutation of ones own cells? A test showed it wasn't so. They catch the cancer from another individual.
Scientists started wondering what could happen to this desease. Can it become less leathal? Can it become worse? Or can it start jumping from the devils to other anilmals?
Young devils doesn't seem to get this cancer, so the scientists turned to the adults. An adult with a big red lump around its neck becomes a target during feeding. The other devils attack the infected devil. But the scientists didn't find the answer here either. So they turned to the mating season where the males ripps off chunks of each other in fights over females.
Why is the devil caught with this desease? No other animal gets it. The Tasmanian Island is not connected to the rest of Australia, and since man didn't care if the devils lived or not they killed many of them. Then when the devils where climbing back up again in numbers, what else would there be if not inbreeding? The cancer is not rejected by the devils immun system and the desease has spread on at least 2/3 of the islands population.
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How do we save it?
Another question is: How many cures for cancer do we have? Scientists are skeptic to find a cure for the cancer before the devils are completely gone. The devils that gets the desease dies within 3 to 5 month from catching it.
Scientists are trying to break the cycle by putting the devils in quarantine, both in the wild and in captivity. The devils are put in quarantine for 2 years to make sure no one of them has caught the desease. It's a desperate attempt.
The devils on the east side of the island have no variation in genes which makes them vulnerable for the cancer, but then the scientists found out that the devils on the west side had variations in the genes. They took one of the quarantine born devils with genes from the west coast and injected him with cells from the cancer to see how his immun system worked. They took a look at the white blood cells and they increased to fight off the cancer cells. Maybe the devils from the west coast has an answer on how to stop this horrible desease!
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I Want To Breathe - We are almost gone
I Want To Breathe - We are almost gone
Help saving these cute critters!
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