Thousands of Tasmanian devils are dying from cancer – but a new vaccine approach could help us save them

<https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-tasmanian-devils-are-dying-from-cancer-but-a-new-vaccine-approach-could-help-us-save-them-194536>

"Tasmanian devils are tough little creatures with a ferocious reputation.
Tragically, each year thousands of Tasmanian devils suffer and die from
contagious cancers – devil facial tumours.

We have discovered that a modified virus, like the attenuated adenovirus used
in the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, can make devil facial tumour cells more
visible to the devil immune system.

We have also found key immune targets on devil facial tumour cells. These
combined advances allow us to move forward with a vaccine that helps the devil
immune system find and fight the cancer.

And we have a clever way to deliver this vaccine, too – with edible baits."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics