[extropy-chat] [Biomed] Contagious Cancer

[The Avantguardian]

Very bizarre. Turns out there is a communicable form
of cancer in dogs that is not transmitted by a virus
or other etiological agent but by the cancer cells
themselves. Freaky. They are isolating tumors from
dogs that do not belong to those dogs but to a dog or
wolf that lived in Siberia between 250 and 2500 years
ago. The tumor cells have essentially evolved
(devolved?) from being components of a multicellular
organism into bona-fide single-celled parasites.
Fortunately, for now at least, its only in dogs but
then again evolution never stops.

http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060810_dog_cancer.html




Stuart LaForge
alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu

"The 'I' is an illusion but that illusion needs to be experienced, and it is only by experience that it can be known as an illusion."

- Shankarachanya

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