Indeed, dogs proved able to sniff out the disease, but researchers wanted to find ways to scale up this approach.
Now, a research team at Michigan State University has developed a cancer screening system using locusts. As MIT Technology Review reports, initially, the researchers placed electrodes in the grasshoppers' brain lobes. These electrodes receive signals from the insect's antennae, which it uses to detect odors.
Next, the team cultured three different types of human cancerous oral cells as well as a separate set of healthy ones. At the same time, they built a device that captures the gases emitted by each type of cell. The researchers found that the grasshopper's brain responded differently to each cell type and that it could correctly identify diseased cells from the gases.
"The insect is dead in terms of its body function," researcher Debajit Saha told MIT Technology Review. "We're just keeping its brain alive."
The study has yet to be peer-reviewed, and it's hard to know if regulators like the Food and Drug Administration would ever approve such a procedure.
Saha and his team, however, plan to continue experiments with locusts. Their system requires between six and 10 locust brains to work. That's why the researchers hope that the new electrodes will be able to record more neurons, so that a single brain will be enough for an individual examination. They also want to make the device containing the brain and antennas portable so it can be used outside the lab.
The findings of the study were published in "bioRXiv".
SOURCE: Engadget
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