Wow, such science. Many fun. So clever
Happy #FidoFriday This article about an old, very old, sexually transmitted cancer in dogs is being shared a lot. I think the version from Tommy Leung is clever and fun. He’s such a science hipster.
#ScienceEveryday
Originally shared by Tommy Leung
Such Transmissible Cancer. Much Old. So Doge. Wow.
As far as sexually-transmitted diseases goes, Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumour (CTVT) is one hell of a weird one. It is one of only two known lines of cancer cells which actually acts as an infectious agent (the other being the Devil Facial Tumour Disease DFTD see: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111479647230213565874/posts/ZjPVkCK52nU) (For a review of these two clonally transmissible cancers, see: http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n2s/abs/onc2009350a.html).
Whereas there are various other pathogens/infectious agents such as the Human papillomavirus (HPV) which can trigger the growth of cancer, in the case of CTVT, it is the cancer cell itself which is the infectious agent.
Essentially, CTVT is a line of dog cells which have evolved into something that acts like a clonally-reproducing pathogen. Genetic analyses indicates that this cell line originated about 11000 years ago and that this CTVT contains traces of DNA which links it back to the earliest days of dog domestication. In a new study published in Science, it seems that the original animal which gave rise to CTVT might have been wolf-dog hybrid that was closely related to an Alaskan malamute.
To find out more follow this link here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24926-infectious-cancer-preserves-dog-genes-for-11000-years.html
#scienceeveryday #doge #cancer #molecularbiology #genetics