Since the emergence of the facial fungal disease during the mid-1990s that has decimated Tasmanian devil populations in the wild, scientists have been working on developing a vaccine that can protect the species and slow the spread of the fatal cancer. Although there was limited success with an earlier immunotherapy […]
Solving a piece of the DFTD puzzle
Scientists have long puzzled over how and why the fatal facial tumour disease that continues to ravage populations of Tasmanian devils in the wild became a transmissible cancer, given tumours usually grow exclusively in the organism where their cell of origin derives from. An international study that involved scientists from […]
DFTD: still so many questions
Since the deadly facial tumour disease that has ravaged Tasmanian devil populations in the wild was first observed over 20 years ago, scientists have puzzled over the circumstances that caused it both to emerge, and to spread so rapidly. Two studies published recently provide some insight and perspective on the […]
$1 million raised for devil research
In March the Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal announced the winners in its latest round of grants and scholarships that will contribute towards research designed to combat the fatal facial tumour disease that has ravaged the species in the wild since the mid-1990s. More than $375,000 has been awarded this […]
Devil vaccine a step closer
The results of an international study published recently in Scientific Reports has confirmed the fatal facial tumour disease that has decimated populations of Tasmanian devils in the wild for over 20 years, can be cured using immunotherapy. Led by the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, the study […]