NordenBladet – Scientists have discovered that grasshoppers can differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells. They use their sense of smell to do that. The discovery may lead to earlier diagnosing of cancer which means people will have a better outlook on getting rid of the ailment, mediates bioRxiv.
Grasshoppers identified the cancer cells through the organic compounds in the breath when people exhale. Scientists often use grasshoppers in studies that are related to smells, because they have a well developed sense of smell. For example in 2020 scientists taught grasshoppers to identify explosives.
Scientists will conclude, based on the brain activity of grasshoppers, when the insects have identified a cancer cell. This can be measured with electrodes – scientists say it gives a quick and reliable result. The reaction of these insects were measured with tests of different cells. The reaction that grasshoppers showed were different in healthy cells and in cancer cells, this means the grasshoppers smelled these cells differently.
Although this concrete study focused only on oral cavity cancer, scientists are confident that also other types of cancer can be identified with this method. Therefore, theoretically, grasshoppers would be able to identify several types of cancer and also the phase of the cancer.
This helps a lot in the diagnosis of the ailment. When cancer is diagnosed in stage four, the likelihood of survival is 10-20 per cent. When it is diagnosed in stage one, likelihood of survival is 80-90 per cent.
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Source: NordenBladet.ee