Bad news if you’re a Tasmanian devil: Devil Facial Cancer is still spreading through the population and threatening its futureWashington State Universityis a small, very smelly and extremely loud marsupial that was formerly present all across Australia until they became extinct there around 3,500 years ago, probably due to hunting by dingos.
Tasmanian devils are not picky eaters, and will happily devour any dead animal that they sniff out, including insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Their powerful jaws and specialized tooth structure allows them to consume bones, fur and exoskeleton.Charlieatyourservice via a Creative Commons license
Contrary to what most people think they know about cancer, transmissible cancers are actually contagious, a feature that captured my attention as a microbiology undergrad before I worked in cancer research for two years. These cancers are spread from one individual to the next by the transfer of living cancer cells. As you might expect, transmissible cancers are very rare in nature.