August 2
Australia’s new $A200m synchrotron in Melbourne could contribute to the fight to save the Tasmanian devil from the outbreak of facial tumour disease currently decimating devil populations
according to Dr Jeff Church from CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology in Geelong.

Dr Church says he will use the synchotron to see if the disease causes any biochemical changes in the devils which could be detected in their hair before the disease becomes apparent.

“If there is a consistent change, it could lead to the development of a test which will allow detection of the cancer before the tumours become evident,” he says. “This would make any quarantine strategy easier to establish, as well as much more efficient.”

The idea is based on Australian research showing disease-related changes in the composition of human hair. The suggestion is that similar changes could occur in Tasmanian devils’ hair when the facial tumour disease is triggered.

The synchrotron’s infra-red beamline combined with a microscope and spectrometer – which detects how different materials absorb and reflect the radiation – can be used to determine if the composition of hair differs between diseased animals and healthy ones.
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The name synchtron is a little cheesy for me but if it helps anything that's fine with me