Easy to train and learn quickly.. The ants detect the smell of cancer in the urine of patients

Several types of cancer change the smell of urine in patients, but scientists recently discovered for the first time that ants have the ability to detect this smell, the smell of cancer, in urine.

In their findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the scientists said the insects could be used as a cost-effective way to identify cancers in patients.

"Ants can be used as a bioreactor to distinguish between healthy individuals and those who carry a tumour," study author Professor Patricia Dettori, of the Sorbonne Paris Nord in Paris, France, told The Associated Press. "They are easy to train, learn quickly, are highly efficient and are not expensive."

The current study builds on previous research by Professor Dattori and her colleagues, who showed that ants are able to smell human cancer cells grown in a laboratory.

In the recent study, the researchers exposed 70 ants belonging to the species known as Formica fusca, to urine samples from tumor-infected and tumor-free mice. After three experiments, the ants were able to distinguish between the odor of the urine of healthy mice and the odor of urine of tumor-bearing mice.

According to Russia Today, scientists said that this is due to the fact that ants have a very sensitive smell system.

Professor Dattori explained: We trained them in associative learning to associate a certain scent, the smell of cancer, with a reward, and after very few trials, the ants learned the association.

We showed that ants can distinguish between the urine of healthy mice and the urine of tumor-bearing mice.

This is very similar to the real-life case of using cultured cancer cells, she added: We were surprised at how efficient and reliable the ants were.

As part of the next steps, the team is seeking to see if ants can do the same thing with human urine. In previous research, dogs have shown that they can detect cancer by smelling urine after being trained to do so.  

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