Honey Bees Trained to Detect Cancer on Patients' Breath

Doctors have long treated patients for exceptionally bad bee stings, but now, it looks like the insects may be helping the field of medicine.

New research from Inscentinel, a UK-based firm specializing in insect research, suggests that honey bees can be trained to detect certain early-stage cancers in humans.

See also: Cancer, the Video Game: A Story of Hope

Using this breakthrough, Portuguese designer Susana Soares has developed a glass device for diagnosis using honey bees and a patient's breath

Thanks to their super-sensitive sense of smell, bees can detect odors that a human nose can't, Soares explains on her website. Biomarkers associated with tuberculosis, lung cancer, skin cancer and diabetes, which can all be detected through smell, are present on a patient's breath. Read more...

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via Mashable http://mashable.com/2013/11/24/cancer-bees/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss