Retroviruses are re-writing the koala genome and causing cancer

Koalas are facing multiple environmental and health issues which threaten their survival. Along with habitat loss - accelerated by last year's devastating bush fires - domestic dog attacks and road accidents, they suffer from deadly chlamydial infections and extremely high frequency of cancer. Scientists now demonstrate that a retrovirus invading the koala germline explains the high frequency of koala cancer.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3b2gi7r