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Thousands of Years Ago, a Dog Gave Rise to an Immortal Entity
“One of the strangest living things on the planet started as a dog, but has turned into something else entirely.
It originated somewhere in Asia about 6,000 years ago, when a cell in the genitals of an unknown dog developed mutations that allowed it to multiply uncontrollably. That is, it became a tumor. But unlike almost every other cancer, which ultimately goes down with its host, this one did not.”
...(for six thousand years.)
“Today’s tumors are about as genetically different from the founder dog as two distantly related dogs are to each other. “CTVT is like its own organism,” Murchison says. “It isn’t really a dog. Is it a cancer, still?”
There’s good reason to think that the answer is no.”
CTVT is really really weird.
“One of the strangest living things on the planet started as a dog, but has turned into something else entirely.
It originated somewhere in Asia about 6,000 years ago, when a cell in the genitals of an unknown dog developed mutations that allowed it to multiply uncontrollably. That is, it became a tumor. But unlike almost every other cancer, which ultimately goes down with its host, this one did not.”
...(for six thousand years.)
“Today’s tumors are about as genetically different from the founder dog as two distantly related dogs are to each other. “CTVT is like its own organism,” Murchison says. “It isn’t really a dog. Is it a cancer, still?”
There’s good reason to think that the answer is no.”
CTVT is really really weird.