Word: devil
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Sydney University geneticist Kathy Belov admits that until recently she thought the species, soon to be officially listed as endangered, was doomed. Her team's work on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes - which activate an immune response in all vertebrates - confirmed late last year that devils have so little genetic diversity that their immune systems simply don't treat the tumor cells as a threat. That was the grim news from the island's east, where the disease has hit hardest. But it now seems that devils from the more isolated west could be different. It's a distinction that...
...Good news came first from a devil named Cedric. When tests showed that he had a different MHC type from eastern devils, Cedric was injected with dead tumor cells. The researchers were elated when his body began fighting them. Last December he was injected with live tumor cells. So far, he's still healthy. The Special Six, caught last year, also have MHC types not seen in the east, says immunologist Woods, who's based at the University of Tasmania. "It's never happened before that a disease has spread through a population without some animals being resistant - even Ebola...
...island's northwest, one of McCallum's students has been tracking an odd trend in the epidemic. In the past two years, only 10 animals with tumors have been found in a forestry area known as West Pencil Pine, a favorite devil haunt. That suggests that the disease's spread is slowing. Could local devils be resisting it? Belov and Woods are both itching to compare MHC types in the region, and a major effort to trap West Pencil Pine devils will soon begin. "The next month could be a watershed," says Woods. "We're hoping...
...genetic detective work goes on, "Noah's arks" of devils are being stocked. Already 73 are in Australian zoos and wildlife parks, while another 63 have been caught this year. The aim is to build up a captive population of 1,500 - but that, says Steven Smith, manager of the state's Save the Tasmanian Devil program, may require the funds and facilities of a massive international breeding program, the first for an Australian species. Keeping devils is costly, as adults must be held in large individual enclosures to prevent fighting. Extra money is coming - $10 million from the federal...
...Meanwhile, proposals to fence off Tasmanian peninsulas and establish devil colonies on nearby islands are about to be revisited, though some ecologists oppose using islands because of the damage an experienced new predator could do. Cordoning off peninsulas would also be expensive to maintain and hard to patrol. "Fencing out a disease is much harder than fencing out a predator," says Hamish McCallum. But like others, he worries about relying on captive devils, which will inevitably lose some wild traits: "I wouldn't want all my eggs in that basket...