Since they pollinate the crops that feed the globe, honeybees are frequently heralded as heroes. However, it appears that these buzzy insects may be capable of detecting cancer, which is another helpful trick up their bag. According to lab studies, honeybees' acute sense of smell may be able to detect lung cancer.
It's been known for a long time by scientists that animals can smell out illnesses. Dogs on diabetic warning systems are able to detect changes in their owners' blood sugar levels, and ants can be trained to detect cancer in urine, among other things. Dogs can also be trained to detect cancer in samples of saliva. Researchers wanted to know if honeybees could detect diseases, since they believe they could be a less expensive and low-maintenance alternative to cancer treatment. This led them to conduct a new study.
The researchers used 3D-printed plastic harnesses and wax to secure the honeybees, and then they affixed electrodes to the area of their brains responsible for processing smells. Subsequently, scientists exposed the bees' antennae to two distinct aerosolized mixtures: one that imitated the substances present in a lung cancer patient's breath and the other that resembled a healthy individual's breath. The bees' brains generated various electrical signals in reaction to the fragrances. Based on these signals, researchers were able to differentiate between the two kinds of artificial breath at least 93% of the time.
Even at "very small concentrations," the bees were able to distinguish between the two varieties of synthetic breath, according to research co-author Debajit Saha, a biological engineer at Michigan State University. He continues, "Bees are able to distinguish between minuscule variations in the breath mixture's chemical concentrations, which are in the parts per billion range." In an additional experiment, the researchers tested the bees' ability to discriminate between non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, the latter of which is a more common and rapidly expanding form of the disease. The test was also easily passed by the bees.
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