Ants could be the next line of defense against cancer.
A study published in the journal Proceedings of Royal Society B: Biological Sciences focused on Ants and their keen sense of smell. Ants use smell via their thin sensory appendages that sit on top of their heads to do almost everything, including hunt for food, spotting mates, and protecting their young.
In the study, scientists used pieces of a breast cancer tumor, which were grafted onto mice, and then trained 35 ants to associate urine from the infected mice with sugar. In analyzing, scientists detected that the ants would hover for longer periods of time near the sick mouse rather than the healthy one.
Using ants to detect cancers would be a cost-cutting tool. Currently, cancers are diagnosed by blood withdrawal, biopsies, and colonoscopies, which are all considered invasive as well as being expensive procedures. Utilizing ants to screen for cancer would be significantly more reasonable.
While dogs have similar capabilities in that they are able to detect cancer in humans through smell, they take much longer to train. Baptiste Piqueret, a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany, said ants would be the ideal animal to use because they have good memories, are easy to train and don't bite.
Though progress has been made with ants and their cancer detection capabilities, there is still more research to be done on their efficacy. The next phase of the study will be human trials to see if ants are able to sniff out cancers through human excrement.
The 2022 County Health Rankings largely found that the pandemic worsened the burdens faced by women, people of color, and in low income brackets. Cheddar News speaks with Sheri Johnson, co-director of County Health Rankings and Roadmaps who breaks down the details.
With National Infertility Awareness Week underway, the fertility and family-building benefits provider for employers, Kindbody, is looking to make a full suite of treatments and care accessible — including for LGBTQ+ patients. Founder and chairwoman Gina Bartasi joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to talk about the importance of infertility awareness, what role employers play in offering benefits, and how to remove the stigma around the fertility conversation. "We have to talk about the patient holistically, not just fertility services, but what can we do from a mental health standpoint to support patients," she said. "Most patients talk about fertility being more stressful than divorce, infertility being more prevalent than cancer or diabetes. So it is our mission, remains our mission, to elevate awareness around infertility, not just [during] National Infertility Awareness Week."
New York City’s geography makes it particularly at risk to the impacts of climate change - like rising seas and subsequent flooding. The city has already experienced the effects of increasingly severe weather. In response, the city is building a plan to protect itself, from flood walls, to levees, to redesigning its coast.
With mask mandates lifted across various parts of the country, healthy indoor air quality in public spaces is more crucial than ever before. According to the CDC, proper ventilation, in addition to other preventative measures, is instrumental to preventing the rapid spread of covid-19 indoors. As the push for higher air quality ramps up, AtmosAir is providing a high-tech solution for cleaner, greener air indoors. Steve Levine, CEO, AtmosAir, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 27, 2022, with Tesla stocks absorbing an initial hit following Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, Russia pausing its natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission taking off, and more.
New Mexico is under a state of emergency after flames scorched across 84 square miles. Strong winds fueled 20 wildfires, destroying hundreds of buildings in the state this weekend. New Mexico is just one of several states across the southwest facing severe wildfires. James McMullen, retired California state fire marshal and forensic fire expert, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
SpoonTEK is an eating utensil that uses new technology to enhance flavors. Co-founders Ken and Cameron Davidov join Cheddar News to explain how the high-tech silverware can not only boost taste but also the health of its user.
Tim Brown, research professor at Desert Research Institute and director at the Western Regional Climate Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss the environmental impact of recent wildfires.
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced. That's underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the U.S. eases restrictions in a bid to revert to pre-pandemic normalcy.
