What happens when bees and bad breath pair up? A study suggests this could be a life-saving new way to screen for cancer.
Michigan State University researchers have found that bees can detect chemicals in human breath that have been linked to lung cancer. The insects were able to sniff out human lung cancer biomarkers with an 82 percent success rate, according to a study published in the journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics.
“These results suggest that the honey bee olfactory system can be used as a sensitive biogas sensor to detect lung cancer in humans,” the study authors wrote.
According to a Michigan State University press release, “Insects have an amazing sense of smell, just like dogs.”
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A bee drinks nectar in Markham, Ontario, Canada. (Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Saha, an assistant professor in MSU’s College of Engineering and Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering, sought to determine whether bees could differentiate between chemicals in the breath of healthy people and lung cancer patients.
His team developed a “recipe” for a synthetic breath mixture containing six compounds present in cancer patients’ breath and a synthetic “healthy” breath mixture.
“Creating this recipe required a steady hand,” said Alyssa Cox, Saha’s former lab manager. “We tested a mixture of synthetic lung cancer and healthy human breath on about 20 bees.”
The researchers placed each live bee into a custom-made 3D-printed harness and connected a tiny electrode to its brain to measure activity.
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The Lung Cancer Research Foundation estimates that by 2024, 235,580 people in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer. (Mohammed Hanifa Nizamuddin/iStock)
“We delivered these odors to the bees’ antennae and recorded neural signals from their brains,” Saha said. “We saw changes in the bees’ neural firing responses.”
The researchers found that bees were able to detect cancer-indicating compounds even in small amounts.
“The concentrations detected by the bees were very low; this is a very strong result,” Saha said. “Bees can distinguish small changes in chemical concentrations in respiratory mixtures, in the range of parts per billion.”
Bees can also tell the difference between synthetic lung cancer breath and healthy breath.
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A bee visits a flowering catnip plant growing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Scientists hope the research will lead to the development of a sensor based on bee brains that could be used to test human breath for the presence of lung cancer.
“It’s amazing that bees are not only able to detect cancer cells, but they can also differentiate cell lines from various types of lung cancer,” said Autumn McLane-Svoboda, a graduate student in Saha’s team. “The implications for the future are huge because our The sensor allows patients to quickly receive a specific cancer diagnosis, which is critical for the correct treatment route.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The Lung Cancer Research Foundation estimates that by 2024, 235,580 people in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer.
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Smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer and causes 80% of lung cancer deaths.
Early detection of lung cancer in high-risk groups can reduce the chance of death by up to 20%.
