"SYDNEY -- Australian scientists Thursday said they had made a breakthrough in the fight to save the cancer-hit Tasmanian devil by mapping the species' genome for the first time.

The dark, furry marsupials were declared endangered in 2009 after a contagious cancer began sweeping through the population, disfiguring their faces so badly they are unable to eat and starve to death. ...

But researchers working to save the dwindling species said the genome sequence opened a new path to understanding where the cancer attacked and how it could potentially be treated."

AFP had the story September 16, 2010. [2]