SCIENTISTS HAVE NOTICED A RAPID EVOLUTION OF THE
TASMANIAN DEVIL IN AUSTRALIA.
IN FACT, I WANT TO SHOW YOU IMAGES OF THIS RAPID EVOLUTION.
STARTING WITH WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY ARE BABIES.
SUPER CUTE.
AND THEN THEY GROW AND THEY ARE STILL SUPER CUTE, ALTHOUGH
VERY VICIOUS BASED ON WHAT THEY DO AND THEY WANT TO ME AND
ALSO WHILE THEY ARE FIGHTING.
HE IS NOT COLLECTIBLE FOR NOTHING.
BUT HE IS A CUTE LITTLE DEVIL.
UNFORTUNATELY, A FEW YEARS AGO 82%
OF THE TASMANIAN DEVIL POPULATION WAS WIPED OUT
BECAUSE OF A FACE CANCER THAT THEY WERE GETTING.
THIS PICTURE IS HARD TO LOOK AT, THERE IT IS, I DON'T LIKE
LOOKING AT IT MYSELF.
RESEARCHERS ARE FINDING THAT THEY ARE EVOLVING SO
RAPIDLY THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY FINDING WAYS TO FIGHT THE
CANCER AND LIVE LONGER.
HERE'S WHAT THEY NOW LOOK LIKE.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
THERE THEY ARE.
MAN THAT IS QUITE THE EVOLUTION.
HERE IS WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE.
FACE CANCER.
THERE IS ACTUAL SCIENTIFIC STUFF THAT WE WILL GET INTO IN A
SECOND HOW CUTER TASMANIAN DEVILS?
THEY ARE SUPER CUTE THAT
I LOVE THE STORY.
IT'S ABOUT EVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION WINS.
IT IS CALLED THE TASMANIAN DEVIL AND THEN GOD AFFLICTS THEM
WITH A TERRIBLE SCOURGE.
A PLAGUE UPON THEIR FACES.
TAKE THAT, TASMANIAN DEVIL.
AND THEN EVOLUTION IS LIKE, YEAH, WHATEVER, WE WILL
EVOLVE OUT OF IT AND THAT IS IT.
BASE CANCER IS GONE AND WE ARE BACKED OUT WHAT NOW?
GOD, YOUR SERVE.
THIS IS GREAT BECAUSE IT IS A CLASSIC CASE OF EVOLUTION
AND I WILL EXPLAIN WHY THAT IS IN JUST A SECOND BUT WHAT I
LOVE IS EVOLUTION TYPICALLY TAKES A LONG TIME SO PEOPLE
DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND.
CREATIONIST AND SOME RELIGIOUS PEOPLE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND
HOW IT WORKS AND I THINK THAT THIS STORY, SINCE IT HAPPENED
SO RAPIDLY, SHOWS HOW EVOLUTION WORKS IN A VERY SIMPLE WAY.
A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND INCURABLE FORM OF CANCER
CALLED DEVIL FACIAL TUMOR DISEASE
SOMETHING YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE
BEGIN WIPING OUT DEVIL POPULATION STOCK
CHARACTERIZED BY GRUESOME LESIONS AND LUMPS THAT
MANIFEST ON THE MARSUPIAL SPACES, THE CONDITION
KILLED NEARLY 100% OF DEVILS THAT CONTRACTED IT.
IN THE YEARS SINCE, THE CONDITION HAS INFECTED ALMOST
ALL DEVIL POPULATIONS IN THE WILD, PROMPTING AN OVERALL
POPULATION TO KIND OF OVER 80%.
THE REASON WHY IT IS SO EASY TO SPREAD A IS BECAUSE HAS
MANY IN DEVILS ATTACK ONE ANOTHER BY BITING ONE
ANOTHER'S FACES WHEN THEY ARE FIGHTING OVER A MATE.
AND THEN THEY GET CANCER WHICH IS MESSED UP.
ACCORDING TO THE STUDY PUBLISHED THIS WEEK IN THE JOURNAL OF
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, THE ENDANGERED SPECIES SEEMS TO
BE RAPIDLY EVOLVING TO RESIST THE CANCER AND THIS TAB AS
ARRIVAL MAY BE ENOUGH TO KEEP THEM ALIVE.
PART OF THE REASON, LET'S KEEP THE GRAPHIC 24, THE RESEARCH
DISCOVERED CHANGES INTO REGIONS OF THE GENOME ASSOCIATED WITH
IMMUNE FUNCTION AND CANCEROUS WANTS THAT THEIR FINDINGS
SUGGESTED THAT DEVILS ARE EVOLVING A MOON IMMUNE
MODULE RESISTANCE THAT COULD AID IN SPECIES PERSISTENCE IN
THE FACE OF THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE.
WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS WHETHER OR NOT THIS
RESISTANCE IS JUST ALLOWING THEM TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO
CONTINUE REPRODUCING OR IF IT JUST HELPS THEM FIGHT THE CANCER
ALTOGETHER AND LIVE A NORMAL, FULL CHANCE MANY IN DEVIL LIFE.
WITH A GETS A BITE EACH OTHER SPACES OFF.
WHEN THEY HAD THIS DISEASE AFFLICTS THEM, THE TASMANIAN
DEVIL SAID WE ARE UNDER ATTACK.
YEAH.
HERE IS WHAT I ALSO WONDER.
AND THEY SAID IT'S THE DEVIL, OKAY?
SUCH A CLOWN.
HERE IS WHAT I WONDER AND I AM SURE MORE RESEARCH WILL GO
INTO THIS AND WE WILL KNOW THE ANSWER.
ARE THESE HAS MANY IN DEVILS THAT DEVELOPED THIS CHANGE
IN THIS GENOME OR WAS THIS SOMETHING THAT THEY JUST
INHERENTLY HAD AND SO SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST BECAUSE THAT
IS ONE OF THE WAYS EVOLUTION WORKS.
THERE WILL BE SOME SORT OF TERRIBLE DISEASE OR
SOMETHING THAT WIPES OUT THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION
THAT CAN'T HANDLE FIGHTING OFF THAT DISEASE AND THEN THOSE
THAT ARE STRONG ENOUGH REMAIN, THEY REPRODUCE, AND THEN
YOU HAVE A STRONGER POPULATION.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED OR IF IT'S
SOMETHING THAT THEY RAPIDLY DEVELOPED TO RESIST THE CANCER.
DAMMIT, I AM NOT A SCIENTIST I'M A TALKSHOW HOST.
I AM NOT GOING TO GET INTO SPECULATION OF EXACTLY HOW
THAT WORKS ALL I KNOW IS, I LOVE SCIENCE AND EVOLUTION AND A GOD.
I JUST LOVE HOW BAD ASS TASMANIAN DEVILS ARE.
THAT'S CERTAINLY TRUE TO DEAL ALL KIDDING ASIDE, THIS IS
WHAT HOWEVER LUCIAN WORKS.
IT IS NOT LIKE GOD MADE WOMEN FROM THE RIB OF GUYS AND THEN HE
MADE FEMALE TASMANIAN DEVILS FROM THE RIBS OF MAILED HAS MANY
IN DEVILS AND THEN KNOW WHAT RUSSELL RESCUED THESE HAS
MANY IN DEVIL COUPLE.
HAS MANY IN DEVILS HAVE MUTATED AND INVOLVED ALL THROUGHOUT.
BEFORE NOAH'S ARK, AFTER NOAH'S ARK,/NOAH'S ARK NEVER
EXISTED AND IF IT DID, BOY, THE TASMANIAN DEVIL COULD'VE
USED IT BEFORE THE FACIAL CANCER HIT THEM.
GOD DIDN'T GET ANGRY WITH THEM AND THEIR LIFESTYLE AND
DECIDE TO DO A PLAGUE UPON HIM.
THIS IS NATURE.
DEVILS GO IN, DEVILS COME OUT.
YOU CAN EXPLAIN THAT BUT EVOLUTION CAN.
KEEP IN MIND, SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT THAT HAS MANY
IN DEVIL WOULD BE EXTINCT.
NOW THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT IT WILL NOT BE EXTINCT AND
THAT IS GREAT NEWS.
IT IS A HEARTWARMING HAPPY TASMANIAN DEVIL STORY.
MY HEART IS WARMED ALL OVER.
FANTASTIC.
WAY TO FIGHT IT OFF, GUYS.
HAS MANY IN DEVILS ALIKE DID YOU HEAR, HE SAID SOME NICE
THINGS ABOUT US.
HE SAYS WE DID A GREAT JOB.
80%
OF US DYING, SOME OF US GETTING LUCKY AND HAVING THE RIGHT
GENES AND THEN REPRODUCING AND SO WE RE-CREATE THE POPULATION.
THAT WAS GOOD WORK BY US.
MY FAVORITE THING IN THE WORLD IS HOW YOU HAVE A
TASMANIAN DEVIL RIGHT BEHIND YOU WHO REMINDS ME A LITTLE BIT
OF CHRIS CHRISTIE STANDING BEHIND DONALD TRUMP.
O MAN.
IT'S THE DEVIL, OKAY?
IN THIS CASE, LITERALLY.