Published • loading... • Updated
Colossal Foundation and University of Tasmania Partner to Combat Devil Facial Tumour Disease with Vaccines and Gene Editing
Researchers will test an oral bait vaccine and LZTR1 gene edits after devil facial tumour disease cut wild populations by about 80%, officials said.
- On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the Colossal Foundation and the University of Tasmania announced a partnership to combat Devil facial tumour disease, a transmissible cancer threatening the Tasmanian devil with extinction.
- DFTD has devastated wild populations, driving 80% declines across Tasmania since emergence, with contagious cancers causing large, fatal facial tumours that prevent devils from eating.
- Associate Professor Andrew Flies and his team are developing a field-ready oral bait vaccine and a gene-editing strategy targeting LZTR1, a gene hypothesized to play a critical role in tumour origin.
- Any release of genetically altered devils remains up to 10 years away, Colossal Australia's chief biology officer Andrew Pask said, with vaccine trials on captive animals expected by the end of 2026.
- Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary director Greg Irons said, "Anything that gives our devils a real path back deserves our full support," as researchers establish a colony to boost vaccine testing efforts.
Insights by Ground AI
Podcasts & Opinions
41 Articles
41 Articles
To Save the Tasmanian Devil From a Contagious Cancer, Scientists Are Recruiting an Unlikely Stunt Double
Colossal Biosciences announced a new partnership with the University of Tasmania to combat devil facial tumour disease, a contagious cancer that has devastated the Tasmanian devil since it was first identified in 1996.
·New York, United States
Read Full Article
Colossal Foundation and University of Tasmania Partner to Combat Devil Facial Tumour Disease with Vaccines and Gene Editing
The collaboration leverages Colossal's marsupial de-extinction and conservation biotechnology platform to save the Tasmanian devil from a contagious cancer that has driven 80% population declines across Tasmania
Coverage Details
Total News Sources41
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center23Last UpdatedBias Distribution82% Center
Bias Distribution
- 82% of the sources are Center
82% Center
11%
C 82%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
