Can Ants Help Detect Cancer in Humans?
WouterSeveral types of insects have been tested for their ability to detect cancer. While dogs are known to be extremely good at this task, there have been no clinical studies on humans. Ants, however, could be a more viable option. Unlike dogs, ants are very effective at detecting cancerous cells and are capable of being trained in a relatively short period of time.
Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the feasibility of training ants to detect cancer. In one of these studies, researchers used Formica fusca ants, which have a great sense of smell. After only a few minutes of training, the ants learned how to distinguish cancerous cells from healthy cells. In addition, they were trained to associate the odor of a cancer cell with a sugar solution.
The Formica fusca ants are also known as the silky ant. They are quick to learn and have a strong sense of smell. The ants were placed in a circular laboratory and given the opportunity to detect odors associated with cancerous human cell lines. Scientists recorded the ants’ behavior using a video camera. The ants made a beeline for the cancerous cells, even when the sugar solution was removed.
The ants’ training was based on a reward system, but the researchers also tested the ants’ memory. In a test conducted with two different breast cancer cell lines, the ants were trained to detect the cancerous cells in a petri dish, if they had been accompanied by a sugar solution. When the sugar solution was removed, the ants sought out the cancerous cells again, even after several minutes.
