Bees can detect lung cancer biomarkers in human breath.
- Researchers have discovered that bees can detect biomarkers associated with lung cancer in human breath.
- They can even distinguish between different forms of lung cancer.
- According to the team, these results could serve as a model for developing new tests to diagnose lung cancer early.
“Insects have an incredible sense of smell, just like dogs“, explains Professor Debajit Saha of Michigan State University. And this ability is particularly interesting in the fight against cancer. The scientist and her team discovered that bees were able to “smell” lung cancer. Their discovery was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
Lung cancer: bees detect small concentrations of biomarkers
To determine whether bees could detect cancer biomarkers when exposed to human breath, the researchers developed a “recipe” to synthetically recreate the chemical composition of the breath of a person with lung cancer as well as that of healthy breath. They then attached an electrode to the brains of 20 bees to observe changes in their brain signals. The tests confirmed that there was a neural response when they were exposed to the odors they created.
The scientists then wanted to measure the amount of cancer-indicating compounds that needed to be present in a person’s breath for the insect to be able to detect lung cancer.The bees detected very small concentrations: this was a very good result”explains Professor Debajit Saha in a communicated. “Bees can differentiate minute changes in chemical concentrations in the respiratory mixture, which are in the parts per billion range (a measure of concentration: cubic millimeters per cubic meter).”
Furthermore, the brain data collected made it possible to identify several different neurons in the bees’ brains. “which clearly differentiated between synthetic lung cancer breath and healthy breath.”
Bees can differentiate lung cancers
In a second step, the team sought to determine whether bees could detect cancer biomarkers on cultures of human lung cancer cells. For this experiment, insects with the electrode measuring their brain waves were placed in contact with different types of samples placed in sealed, airtight vials. The researchers showed that using this sensor based on the bee brain makes it possible to distinguish cells from small cell lung cancer from those from non-small cell lung cancer or from healthy people.
“What is amazing is the ability of bees not only to detect cancer cells, but also to distinguish cell lines of different types of lung cancer.”explains Autumn McLane-Svoboda, who worked on the project. “The future implications of this are enormous, as our sensor could enable patients to receive rapid cancer-specific diagnoses, which is imperative for correct treatment pathways.”
Given these different results, Professor Saha’s team plans to develop a non-invasive test that requires patients to breathe into a device equipped with a sensor based on the brains of bees. The latter would analyze the breath and report in real time if cancerous chemicals are present.