What’s the News: Due to a vicious disease, the population of the endangered Tasmanian devil has decreased by at least 70 percent since 1996. The cancer, devil facial tumor disease, spreads when an infected devil bites another, typically during feeding or mating. Because Tasmanian devils are so genetically similar, their bodies don’t recognize the intruding cancer cells as foreign.

But now, researchers have sequenced the genome of two devils and created a genetic test that could help breeders select genetically diverse mates. The test will help conservationists breed future generations of Tasmanian devils that are prepared for the cancer, as well as other types of diseases.

How the Heck:

Stephan Schuster of Pennsylvania State University and an international team of researchers began by sequencing and comparing the genome of two wild Tasmanian devils. Because the devils came from opposite ends of the island, they represented the maximum geographic spread of the species. One of the devils, Cedric, was resistant to two ...