Zoo keeper and breeder Tim Faulkner holds a Tasmanian devil -- an endangered marsupial found in the wild in the Australian island-state of Tasmania.
A tasmanian devil resting.
Tasmanian devils are in danger of dying off because of a deadly, transmissible cancer.
For Tasmanian devils, the infectious cancer first shows up in and around the mouth as small lesions or lumps. These lesions grow into large tumors around the face and neck (and sometimes even in other parts of the body).
A team of researchers has devised a strategy to use genetic information to help save Tasmanian devils like this one from extinction.
The complete genome of the Tasmanian devil's transmissible cancer may help to explain how cancer was transmitted from a single individual and quickly spread through the population.
The researchers used traps to catch Tasmanian devils, before attaching radio collars to each animal.
A large tumor on a Tasmanian devil. The disease has wiped out about 70 percent of wild devils.
Devil facial tumor disease can prevent Tasmanian devils from eating or drinking.
A healthy Tasmanian devil
