"At the moment the scientists are working on the hypothesis that the disease is physically transferred," Scott explained.

　　"That has only been recorded once before in the animal world, and that was a venereally transmitted canine cancer. It"s a unique disease we"re dealing with.

　　Once it"s detected—and even then, that is only visually—the animal is on death row. They are dead three to six months later."

　　The team is working on the disease"s chromosome structure and has just identified the karyotype. (Karyotypes are pictures of cellular chromosomes that are used to check for abnormalities.)

　　The researchers say they have also been able to develop tumor cells in the lab, enabling them to run tests without actual tumors.

　　A diagnostic test and, ultimately, a vaccine are the scientific team"s main aims. But while the scientists race to learn more about the disease, the Tasmanian government is trying to stop the disease from spreading further.

　　To stop infected animals from moving in, trapping lines are being set in the north of Tasmania, an area that so far appears to be disease free. The government is also considering whether to list the species as threatened under Australia"s threatened-species laws. Threatened status would give the devils protection from other perils, such as habitat destruction caused by water pollution or land development.

　　The move would also require the government to draw up a plan for recovery of the species. Such a plan would focus on managing the disease where it already exists and on preventing it from affecting more animals.

　　The disease "is having a very serious impact on the wild population, but at this stage we don"t believe that the species is headed for extinction," Scott said.

　　"In the areas where it has been present but [where] there"s only a low level population, it has had a major impact. One of the problems is that the devil is nocturnal, and many people never see it in the wild. So it"s very difficult to pick up changes in the population.""