A new study tracked the spread of a contagious blood cancer that raged through various species of clams across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
And the research, published Wednesday in the journal eLife, suggests that human activity may be contributing to the spread of cancer among bivalve shellfish such as clams and mussels.
Cancers that are contagious are rare, but have been identified before in Tasmanian devils, dogs and bivalve species. The tumour cells in a contagious cancer act as parasites that can be transmitted between individuals. In the case of clams getting cancer, the cancer cells can leave the original host and drift in the sea until they infect another susceptible candidate in the bivalve population.
In this study, researchers were attempting to track a type of blood cancer called hemic neoplasia in warty venus clams, a saltwater clam that lives off the Atlantic coast of Europe and also in the Mediterranean Sea.
“We set out to confirm whether a leukemia-like blood cancer found in some bivalves also infects Venus verrucosa, otherwise known as warty venus clams that are found in the seas of southern Europe,” Daniel García-Souto, a postdoctoral researcher in genetics at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and a co-first author of the study, said in a press release.
They collected 345 warty venus clams from eight sampling points along the coast of Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland and Croatia, and found clams with cancer in two regions of Spain — one group on the Atlantic coast, and the other more than 1,000 nautical miles away in the Mediterranean Sea.
But when researchers sequenced the cancer, they found DNA from another distinct clam species, showing that the cancer had jumped from one species to the warty venus.
“Our work confirms that contagious cancers can jump between marine clam species,” senior author José Tubío, a researcher in Genomes and Disease at USC, said in the release. “As this may pose a potential threat to marine ecology, we need to keep studying and monitoring pathogens including cancers to help protect these species.”
Through genome-sequencing, they tracked the origin of the cancer to a single clam, which later became infectious and spread the cancer to other clams around it.
The second species of clam, where the blood cancer had originated, was identified as the striped venus clam, which can be found in the same regions as the warty venus. Researchers screened an additional 200 striped venus clams from the regions and found no evidence of continuing cancer, suggesting that after the cancer made the jump to warty venus, it is only active in that species now.
And the research suggests that this isn’t just a marine problem to keep an eye on. It’s something we play a role in as well.
“The genetic similarity of the cancer cells found in warty venus clams in both the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea suggests that human shipping activities may have transported the cancer from one region to another,” Alicia Bruzos, co-first author, said in the release. She was a PhD Student at USC at the time the study was carried out, and is now at the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK.
The research was funded largely through Scuba Cancers, an ERC starting grant project.
A global technology outage that's grounded flights and delayed border crossings is also challenging health-care services in the country, as issues with Microsoft services persist.
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
The out-of-control Shetland Creek fire in British Columbia's southern Interior has more than doubled in size due to what the wildfire service describes as "significant overnight growth" and more accurate mapping.
Canadians who feel like they are getting less bang for their buck at the grocery store these days might be right. A new report shows the effects of shrinkflation are real.
The most striking thing about walking the floor of the Republican National Convention (RNC) is seeing just how much this is Donald Trump's party, CTV News' Vassy Kapelos says.
The federal government says it has 'taken note' of a ruling from the top UN court that called Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful.
Police in St. John's, N.L., say a woman's body was found in a suitcase in the city's downtown this week and her spouse — who was found dead a day prior — is suspected of killing her.
The out-of-control Shetland Creek fire in British Columbia's southern Interior has more than doubled in size due to what the wildfire service describes as "significant overnight growth" and more accurate mapping.
A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against the City of Calgary, claiming businesses needlessly lost significant revenue due to a water main break.
A recent interaction between a conservation officer and David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, appears set to become the latest skirmish in the battle over Indigenous hunting and fishing rights in the province.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday appealed for party unity to take on former U.S. president Donald Trump's 'dark vision,' working to hold off pressure from Democrats at the highest levels for him to bow out of the 2024 election to make way for a new nominee and avoid widespread losses.
Panama's government expects to start deportation flights for migrants who crossed the country's dangerous Darien jungle in two or three months, the country's chief of migration Roger Mojica said Friday.
Iran is talking more about getting a nuclear bomb and has made strides in developing a key aspect of a weapon since about April, when Israel and its allies overpowered a barrage of Iranian airstrikes targeting Israel, two top Biden administration officials said Friday.
Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party and the country's most powerful politician, has died following months of ill health, official media said Friday. He was 80.
At least 40 people have died after the boat they were travelling in caught fire off the coast of Haiti earlier this week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Friday, citing local authorities.
Police and security officials in Bangladesh fired bullets and tear gas at protesters and banned all gatherings in the capital on Friday, as internet and mobile services were cut off after days of deadly clashes over the allocation of government jobs.
The most striking thing about walking the floor of the Republican National Convention (RNC) is seeing just how much this is Donald Trump's party, CTV News' Vassy Kapelos says.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Steven MacKinnon as Canada's new minister of labour and seniors, filling a fresh vacancy on his front bench, left by outgoing minister Seamus O'Regan.
Montreal city councillor Laura Palestini will represent the Liberals in the LaSalle-Émard-Verdun riding in a byelection that will be called by the end of the month in another test for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party after their recent failure to retain another stronghold in downtown Toronto.
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
Health Canada warned the public in an official statement Friday against homemade sunscreen after viral posts showed social media influencers creating recipes for SPF.
A faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide on Friday, grounding flights, knocking media outlets offline, and disrupting hospitals, small businesses and government offices. The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a few providers for key computing services.
As more people look to find love on dating apps and social media these days, so too are those looking to commit romance scams as artificial intelligence makes it harder to know what's real and what isn't.
Rapper and singer Sean Kingston and his mother have been indicted in South Florida on federal charges of committing more than $1 million worth of fraud.
Actress Cheng Pei-pei, best known for her martial arts roles in films such as 'Come Drink with Me' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' has died. She was 78.
The new judge presiding over the racketeering and gang prosecution of rapper Young Thug and several other defendants said Friday she plans to move forward expeditiously with the trial, which has already dragged on for more than a year.
U.S. planemaker Boeing raised its industry-wide annual 20-year forecast for new jetliner deliveries by three per cent to 43,975, propelled by the strength of passenger demand, rising airline competition and the eventual replacement older less efficient planes.
The former senior manager of special operations for eBay Inc.'s. global security team was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Boston for his role in a cyberstalking campaign that included sending a preserved fetal pig and a bloody pig Halloween mask to a Massachusetts couple's home.
Cristian Villamarin says he's been sober-curious for around a decade, but for a long time he was not impressed with the offerings when it came to non-alcoholic wines and beers.
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
A giant slide in Detroit reopened Friday, and no one lost a tooth – yet. The slide at Belle Isle state park made headlines, landed on late night TV and even inspired a song after viral videos in 2022 showed riders flying and bouncing down the bumpy ramp.
Shoko Miyata, the 19-year-old captain of the Japan women's artistic gymnastics team, has withdrawn from the squad for the Paris Games after violating the team's code of conduct by smoking, the Japanese Gymnastics Association said on Friday.
Stellantis is warning the owners of more than 2,900 hybrid minivans in Canada to stop charging their vehicles and park them outdoors, away from buildings and other cars, due to the risk of battery fires.
Ford Motor Co. says it plans to assemble its F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks at its Oakville, Ont., assembly plant starting in 2026, adding capacity of up to 100,000 additional units.
Toronto traffic has reached the point of a congestion crisis, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, whose new numbers warn of a significant impact on the city’s economy.
It's been more than a month since their good friend was seriously hurt in an accident and two teens from Riverview, N.B., are still having a hard time dealing with it.
A donated clawfoot bathtub has become the preferred lounging spot for a pair of B.C. grizzly bears, who have been taking turns relaxing and reclining in it – with minimal sibling squabbling – for the past year.
A pair of cemetery investigators are cleaning and preserving as many gravestones they have permission to work on, as they conduct their research and document gravestones.
Archeologists are hoping to unearth details about John Ware, the former slave turned successful rancher and Alberta legend, at a dig of his original homestead near Millarville.
Nearly 50 families are being moved from the YMCA on Argyle Avenue to a former retirement home on Corkstown Road, as part of the city's overall homelessness and housing plan.
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
A global technology outage that's grounded flights and delayed border crossings is also challenging health-care services in the country, as issues with Microsoft services persist.
It's one of Quebec's many idiosyncrasies that in the dog days of summer, when everyone wishes they were on holiday, virtually the entire construction industry and a good chunk of the rest of the province close up shop for two weeks.
The Redblacks improved to 4-2 on the CFL season, giving them as many wins as they had all last season, and are 3-0 at TD Place this year, while the Elks fell to 0-6 on the season and continue to search for answers even with interim coach Jarious Jackson on the sidelines.
Anxiety gripped a Newfoundland fishing community Friday as a massive search was underway for a missing vessel carrying seven harvesters that hadn't been heard from in two days.
The pilot of an ultralight plane that crashed in a cornfield outside Fredericton has died, according to the fire chief of the Keswick Valley Fire Department.
Métis nations from across the country, along with thousands of attendees, have come together for a half-week of music, entertainment, and celebration of Métis culture at the annual "Back to Batoche" festival.
Six speed cameras set up around Greater Sudbury have drawn a lot of ire from residents, attracting some vandalism and police are now investigating after one was set on fire overnight.
A 17-year-old girl has succumbed to injuries she suffered during a stabbing earlier this week. Emergency responders were called to Wellesley Crescent late Tuesday night after two people were stabbed by a man.
We have a busy weekend ahead in downtown London – and if you’re planning a trip down to the Pride Festival, or the Rides on Richmond Car Show, maybe you should consider leaving your car at home.
Outreach workers say the City of Victoria shouldn’t bother developing a plan to better enforce its bylaw against daytime sheltering. They say enforcing the rule won’t work because there’s nowhere for people to go.
The British Columbia government is bringing in new programs to address the growing demand for gynecological cancer surgical care in Kelowna and Surrey.
The out-of-control Shetland Creek fire in British Columbia's southern Interior has more than doubled in size due to what the wildfire service describes as "significant overnight growth" and more accurate mapping.
Chris Carbert brought guns and body armour to the Coutts blockade, but says there was no plan for violence unless he had to perhaps flee to the mountains and fend off someone trying to give him a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Lethbridge police are warning the public over what they're calling a "bait-and-switch tactic" being used by scammers who are posting on social media about phony alerts about missing children, seniors and pets.
Police in St. John's, N.L., say a woman's body was found in a suitcase in the city's downtown this week and her spouse — who was found dead a day prior — is suspected of killing her.
Anxiety gripped a Newfoundland fishing community Friday as a massive search was underway for a missing vessel carrying seven harvesters that hadn't been heard from in two days.
Firefighters began attacking a fire near Labrador City from the ground today, marking a new stage in the effort to get the roaring wildfire under control.