New cancer threat to Tassie devils

Researchers have found a new strain of cancer that poses an additional threat to the already endangered Tasmanian devil.

For years scientists have been battling to treat the devil facial tumour disease that decimated the carnivores' population, and just as vaccines and captive breeding programs have proven successful, scientists have found cancer cells of a different kind.

"Laboratory studies indicated that the case was a second, and therefore new, type of devil facial cancer," University of Tasmania researcher Ruth Pye said in a statement on Tuesday.