A team of Japanese researchers has reportedly stumbled on a highly unusual but cost-effective way to detect early cancer signs in patients.
Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are now the cynosure of all eyes as the scientific report outlines how the researchers found a way to use a skeeter's extraordinary sense of smell to scent out cancer in an unsuspicious human patient.
The research was led by Shoji Takeuchi, a professor from the University of Tokyo, Japan. The report was published on January 13 in Sciences Advances, the United States journal.
How the Mosquito Cancer Detection System Works
This is how it works: mosquitos make use of their olfactory cells or a superior sense of smell to swiftly detect a particular odor that is prevalent in the breath of someone with cancer.
According to the Japanese research team, this is an incredibly low-cost way of detecting cancer. The scientists hope that this novel method of cancer detection can be put to medical use within the next decade.
But why is this research so important? Scientific research shows that mosquitos have up to 100 different types of odorant receptors. These odorant receptors are located in their olfactory cells, and every one of them can pick out a specific odor per time.
When these receptors connect with particular smell molecules, their molecular membrane opens up in order to let smell ions enter the cell, and they will be readily identified.
Mosquitos have been proven to detect via smells octenol. This is a chemical that is present in human sweat, and it is also one of the indications that a person has liver cancer.
The Japanese research team successfully created a custom artificial smell receptor that perfectly mimics that of a mosquito. The prototype may only be the size of a lunchbox.
However, despite the size of the artificial smell receptor, the research team were able to identify up to 0.5 parts of octenol per billion in breath samples, all in less than 10 minutes.
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The Link Between Cancer and Mosquitos Established
Mosquitos represent a crucial threat for millions of animals and humans worldwide, vectoring vital parasites and pathogens, including dengue, filariasis, malaria, and Zika virus.
It is a growing problem that causes substantial mortality and morbidity worldwide.
Annual cancer cases are expected to rise from 14 million previously recorded in 2012 to around 22 million over the next 2 decades.
Before now, there have been incredibly few contrasting pieces of evidence of the relationship between mosquito-borne diseases and cancer.
Cancer remains a significant public health issue and represents a considerable burden in several countries with different economic wealth levels.
Since these 2 concerns i.e. cancer and mosquitos have been acknowledged, it became highly essential for scientists to investigate or determine whether they have a reciprocal connection that can efficiently fuel their respective burdens.
Very few studies have really examined the profound link between these 2 global threats.
Thanks to the Japanese research team, the study published in the U.S. journal is one of the new studies to establish a link between cancer and mosquitos.
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