The Strangest Cancer In the World

ByCarl Zimmer
January 22, 2013

In thirty years, Tasmanian devils may be gone from the face of the Earth. If they do vanish, they will be wiped out in a fashion unlike any other endangered species we know of. The marsupials have developed a cancer that acts like a parasite, jumping from host to host.

In today’s New York TimesIn today’s New York Times, I take a look at what scientists are now learning about this strange contagious tumor, and the desperate measures they’re going to in order to protect the species from its unique devastation.

[Image: Arthur Chapman, Flickr/Creative Commons]

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