News from Metzger Lab
PNRI’s Metzger Lab and collaborators from across the globe recently launched a study investigating how a virus-like cancer spreads among basket cockles on the Pacific Coast and soft-shell clams on the Atlantic Coast. The cancer spreads quickly and has killed entire shellfish populations. Locally, it dramatically reduced the Pacific Northwest cockle population and, as a result, impacted the Native American communities who rely on them as traditional food sources.
“If successful, we will come away with a far better understanding of how to prevent these transmissible cancers from decimating vulnerable marine species.”
Michael Metzger, PhD
Explore the media stories below to learn how PNRI’s Metzger Lab applies cutting-edge genetics research to understand how the cancer evolves and why some species resist developing it.
- The Seattle Times: Researchers rush to find cause of contagious cancer in PNW clams
- KING 5 TV News: Researchers discover transmissible cancers in several shellfish species on the east and west coasts
- Voice of America: Researchers Studying Cancer in Wildlife Grapple With Why Some Get the Disease While Others Don’t
- Northwest Treaty Tribes Magazine: Cancer found in cockles
Learn more about the Metzger Lab’s National Science Foundation-funded study at: Contagious Cancer in Shellfish Sparks Investigation by International Team of Scientists.