Scientists have discovered that cancerous tumors spread through seawater between particular shellfish. According to a study in Nature by researchers from Columbia University, Spain, and Canada, a leukemia-like disease called disseminated neoplasia was contracted by a soft-shell clam through contagious cells in the seawater. They eventually discovered that other mollusks—like mussels and cockles—may also spread such cancerous cells. The tumors were found to be genetically distinct from their host.
