Cancer Identification Possible Through Olfactory Receptors
A study has revealed that ants can detect cancer from animal urine, drawing significant attention. Through specific training, they were able to identify cancer cells excreted along with urine.
According to the scientific community on the 3rd, a research team from Sorbonne Paris Nord University in France recently reported in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences' that they used dozens of ants to detect cancer from urine.
The research team implanted human breast cancer tumors into mice and then trained more than 30 black ants to detect them. The black ants underwent special training to find cancer cells, where they were rewarded with sugar or honey water upon discovering the cancer tumors.
The team placed urine from healthy mice and urine from mice implanted with cancer tumors in front of the trained black ants. As a result, the ants spent 20% more time in front of the urine from the cancer-affected mice.
How were the ants able to detect cancer cells mixed in the urine? According to the paper, ants use olfactory receptors on their antennae to identify surrounding objects, and they were able to distinguish cancer using these olfactory receptors.
In particular, the black ants used in the experiment are known for their excellent ability to perceive complex environments. Additionally, ants demonstrated remarkable memory, retaining the training content for several days after just one session.
Baptiste Piqueret, co-author of the research paper and a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, explained, "We discovered that ants can smell the urine of cancer patients and detect tumors. Using biological olfaction for disease diagnosis is not a new idea, but the key was whether ants could be trained. As a result, we devised a method to associate the smell with a reward."
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