Istock – silk ants
One day, ants may help save lives by acting as an inexpensive biodetector for cancer patients.
A new study shows that this skill can be harnessed to detect cancers in urine samples, at least from laboratory mice.
Ants’ keen sense of smell allows them to distinguish subtle molecular differences in biological samples that require expensive equipment to detect.
Fast and efficient tool
In turn, Sorbonne University ethicist Baptiste Beckeret and colleagues wrote in their research paper that “ants show the potential to become a rapid, effective, inexpensive and non-invasive tool for detecting human tumors,” according to the “Science Alert” website.
It took only three training sessions for the ants to distinguish between odors, as this type of ant (Formica fusca) is known for its quick learning and strong memory.
cancer cells (iStock)
While the chemical analysis confirmed that the volatile, foul-smelling molecules in the urine of mice with cancer were indeed different from those without, the larger the size of the cancerous tumor, the different odors.
However, the ants showed no difference in their ability to detect small tumors compared to large tumors in mice.
They might also smell large and small tumors from cancer-free controls in the same way.
Further studies
While these results are promising, more work remains to be done before any potential use in clinical settings.
Cancer remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with more than 19 million cases in 2020.
Cancer (iStock – Emoticon)
The earlier cancer is detected, the greater the chance of recovery for patients, but current detection methods are very expensive, which may prevent patients from being screened early.
So the researchers turned to animals for help, from mice to dogs, to see if this process might be accessed. Beckeret and the team have now tested ants, too.