[ahayes]

Thus the cancer cell is a failed mutation?

From the point of the cancer cell, it's a wild success.

Fortunately human cancers so far have a limited lifespan since they die with their hosts. However, cancers in the Tasmanian devil and the domestic dog have escaped this constraint and become communicable diseases. The cancer cells found in dogs come from a strain that's several centuries old. So what is this communicable cancer? I'd say it's arguable that it's a new species.

[ndt]

"The cancer cells found in dogs come from a strain that's several centuries old. So what is this communicable cancer? I'd say it's arguable that it's a new species."

It's really an amazing thing. I'm not sure how to categorize it. It's not a dog, but it is a dog. Parasitic dog tissue? Canine spore stage? It's just weird.

[RobbyS]

There is a word for this sort of thing: monster.

[RobbyS]

There is a word for this sort of thing: monster.