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What happens when you combine honeybees and bad breath? According to one study, it's a potentially life-saving new cancer screening method.
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that honeybees can sniff out chemicals in human breath that are linked to lung cancer. According to a study published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, the bees were able to sniff out the human lung cancer biomarkers with an astounding 82 percent success rate.
“These results suggest that the honeybee olfactory system could be used as a sensitive biological gas sensor to detect lung cancer in humans,” the study authors write.
“Insects have an incredible sense of smell, just like dogs,” MSU professor Devajit Saha said, according to an MSU news release.
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A honeybee drinks nectar from a flower in Markham, Ontario, Canada. (Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Saha, an assistant professor in Michigan State University's College of Engineering and Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering, wanted to find out whether honeybees could distinguish between chemicals in the breath of healthy people and those in the breath of people with lung cancer.
His team developed a “recipe” for a synthetic breath mixture that included six compounds present in the breath of cancer patients, as well as a synthetic “healthy” breath mixture.
“Developing this recipe was painstaking,” says Elissa Cox, former manager of the Saha lab. “We tested a mixture of lung cancer-causing synthetic substances and healthy human breath on about 20 bees.”
The researchers placed each live bee in a custom 3D-printed harness and attached tiny electrodes to its brain to measure its activity.
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. According to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, an estimated 235,580 people in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2024. (Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen/iStock)
“We exposed the odor to the bees' antennae and recorded neural signals from their brains,” Saha says. “We saw changes in the bees' neural firing responses.”
Researchers have discovered that honeybees can detect small amounts of compounds that could indicate cancer.
“Honeybees can detect tiny concentrations, which is a very powerful result,” Saha said. “They can distinguish tiny changes in the concentration of chemicals in their breath, down to parts per billion.”
The bees were also able to distinguish between the artificial breath of lung cancer patients and healthy breath.
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A honeybee visits catmint flowers growing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Scientists hope that this research could lead to the development of sensors based on honeybee brains that could be used to screen human breath for lung cancer.
“It's amazing that honeybees have the ability to not only detect cancer cells, but also to distinguish between different types of lung cancer cell lines,” says Autumn McClain Svoboda, a graduate student in Saha's team. “The future impact of this sensor is enormous, as it could help patients receive a quicker diagnosis of their specific cancer, which is essential for the right treatment strategy.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. According to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, an estimated 235,580 people in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2024.
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