Ants could learn to sniff out cancer in people

Ants can learn to smell diseases in people and possibly help with treatment, according to new research. Scientists in Europe trained ants to smell cancer (a collection of diseases caused by cells that grow out of control).They hope this could lead to ants detecting cancer in its early stages in humans. Early detection improves the likelihood of recovery, but current detection methods are expensive and invasive. Ants don’t have noses but use their antennas to pick up scents. They have a remarkably high number of odor receptors compared to other insects. Cancer cells release combinations of chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can make their way into urine and sweat. The team wanted to see if ants could recognize the smell of the VOCs. The researchers placed human cancer…

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The Week Junior US (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 148

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