Can Ants Have Cancer?

Whether ants can have cancer is an intriguing question. These insects have evolved to optimize their olfactory senses, giving them an extraordinary ability to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are produced by cancer cells. These compounds are released into the air, saliva, urine and bloodstream.

A research group from Sorbonne University in France recently trained ants to recognize cancer cells. They used Formica fusca ants, also known as silky ants, and used a reward system to train them.

During their training, the ants were exposed to a sugar solution next to a cancerous cell line. They were then rewarded for moving towards the cancer. After three training trials, ants were highly accurate in identifying cancer cells. In addition, they learned to associate the sugar solution with the odor of cancer, and to move towards the cancer when it was next to the sugar solution.

Researchers say that they aren’t sure yet whether they can use the ants to detect cancer in humans, but they plan to test the animals’ sense of smell in saliva and breath. They also plan to study the effects of sweat on the animals’ olfactory senses.

Currently, the most common cancer detection methods are invasive and expensive. Ants could be a more cost-effective alternative. They would require training, but they would also be able to detect cancer in humans without the need for biopsies or needles.

The study was funded by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Institut national de la sante et de la recherche medicale (INSERM). They also used a breast cancer cell line, MDA-MD-231, and an ovary cancer cell line, MCF-7.