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October 12, 2008 9:26:38 PM CDT

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Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

Posted Jul 14, 08 8:46 PM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Tasmanian devils are reproducing at a younger age to offset a contagious cancer epidemic, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ill-tempered marsupials, suffering from tumors that cut their lifespan in half, are now breeding at age 1 instead of 2 or 3. "We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes," one expert told the AP—though the devils may still die off in about 25 years.

Sources Daily Telegraph (UK), Associated Press

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A Tasmanian devil searches for food in his enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo)
In this April 10, 2006 file photo, a Tasmanian devil growls at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark.   (AP Photo)
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Australia  • endangered species  • evolution  • tumor  • breeding  • Tasmania  • Tasmanian Devil


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