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The world's oldest-known living cancer dates back 11,000 years, according to UK scientists.
It arose in a single dog and has survived in canines ever since, with the cancer cells passing between animals when they mate.
A team led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge decoded the DNA of the cancer.
It revealed the "genetic identikit" of an ancient husky-like dog, which first developed the disease.
The animal was of a medium size with a short, straight coat that was coloured grey-brown or black.
"We do not know why this particular individual gave rise to a transmissible cancer," said lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Murchison.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25864236
It arose in a single dog and has survived in canines ever since, with the cancer cells passing between animals when they mate.
A team led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge decoded the DNA of the cancer.
It revealed the "genetic identikit" of an ancient husky-like dog, which first developed the disease.
The animal was of a medium size with a short, straight coat that was coloured grey-brown or black.
"We do not know why this particular individual gave rise to a transmissible cancer," said lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Murchison.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25864236