Skip to main content

Tasmanian Devil Resistance to Facial Cancer (DFTD)

Biological research shows genetic resistance to Tasmanian devil disease.
The Tasmanian devil is an animal unique to Australia. It Once resided all over the continent. Perhaps is was easy for Aboriginals to catch for food. It cannot run very fast. It could just have died out due to a warming of the country. Tasmania is its only natural home today.
Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD
Their raucous cries led to them being named devils by European settlers. They are violent to each other though attacks on humans are virtually non-existent. Scavenging for food is their number one priority.

A facial disease began in the species in 1996. It was unusual in that it is the only known cancer transmitted from animal to animal. Tasmanian devil numbers fell by 80 per cent in twenty years due to Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD).

Extinction was predicted. However, it was noticed that some animals survived without getting the disease. Genes were examined and these devils had five genes not present in their brothers who succumbed. This shows that all animals currently living are unlike their ancestors who dominated even a hundred years ago.
◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan ◆
●
 
            Australian Blog ★  Adventure Australia
ALL ARTICLES· ──► (HOME PAGE)
tasmanian, devil, disease, facial, european, settlement, dftd, extinction, survice, dnd, genes, resistance

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Albert Einstein's Genius Was Due to His Unusual Brain

Albert Einstein wasn't only a genius her was a very odd human being. His brain shows peculiar differences from the norm; it had many more folds than the average person. This gave the brain a greater surface area. It is like using a larger computer to do calculations. Upon his father's death in 1955, Thomas Einstein gave the pathologist permission to preserve the brain of Albert Einstein. It was photographed then dissected into 2,000 ultra-thin slices. The slices and slides of them were later distributed to researchers. The brain had more neurons and glia cells, well outside of the normal range; pariental lobes were unusual in the pattern of ridges and grooves. Einstein only had a brain of average size. The area controlling the tongue and face was larger, as was the region that involves attention and planning. Overall, Einstein's brain was complex. Many people think in words. He said his thinking was like a physical activity. If selection based on "healthy...
Read more
  Home-made saucer that flies down the road.
Read more

Natural History Museum Human Evolution Gallery

 The Human Evolution gallery at Natural History explores the origins of Homo sapiens by tracing our lineage back to when it separated from that of our closest living relatives, the bonobos and chimpanzees. Around 200,000 years ago, Africa was where modern humans developed. They have smaller faces and brow ridges, a chin that is more prominent than that of other ancient humans, and a brain case that is higher and more rounded. Modern human fossils from Israel (around 100,000 years old), Africa (around 195,000 years old), and Australia (around 12,000 years old) are among the casts on display. These fossils demonstrate that typical characteristics of modern humans evolved over time rather than emerging fully formed from Africa. They also suggest that at least two waves of people leaving Africa may have occurred, one about 100,000 years ago and the other about 60,000 years ago. We are all descendants of those who left during that second migration wave outside of Africa. Source: Natural...
Read more