1. sa smith
  2. New ideas for saving Tasmanian Devils

New ideas for saving Tasmanian Devils

By sa smith on May 7, 2013.

I cannot deal with the fact Tasmanian Devils are being driven to extinction by a contagious, untreatable cancer. I cannot deal with it. Click on the first link to see the science behind the tragedy:

Numbers arent enough

Click on the second link to see why I cannot deal with this, psychologically:

Oh no… Cedric died.

I am crying remembering Cedric... I saw him as Arnies brother-from-down-under... crap...

Anne-Marie Hodge from Endless Forms just wrote about new findings about Tasmanian Devils and their cancer:

Devil Dispatch: MHC the Key to Contagious Cancer Vaccine?

I took away another idea:

Reversible epigenetic down-regulation of MHC molecules by devil facial tumour disease illustrates immune escape by a contagious cancer

Further, we show that loss of MHC molecules from the cell surface of DFTD cells is due to coordinated down-regulation of genes essential to the antigen-processing pathway, and that this loss is by regulatory mechanisms including epigenetic modifications rather than structural mutations.

I dont think giving HIV+ patients epigenetic modifiers is a good idea. But Id definitely be trying them in infected Devils.

Tags
cancer
epigenetics
MHC
Tasmanian devil

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The bad table manners alone make the little buggers deserving of cancer. They're called devils for a reason.

@1

Go die in a fire.

By Kemanorel (not verified) on 09 May 2013 #permalink

@2

Seconded

@1

You're an arse. an unfeeling arse at that.

(Note: for some reason the options below this submit button are appearing in german, given I'm in the UK either someone is mistaken about the outcome of WW2, your geolocation database is off or for some reason it's german for everyone...)

Sorry about the devils ERV.

To cheer you up....Harvey Whittemore is going to the pokey.

By Prometheus (not verified) on 29 May 2013 #permalink

Erv,

The plight of the devils is much watched and researched here in Aus, you aren't the only one that is on tenterhooks re their survival as a species. I'd like to still be able to go to Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and see the wild devils.
We need our marsupial carnivores to continue to survive :)