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.
Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin successfully held a fourth civilian launch into space on Thursday. Former NASA Astronaut, Leroy Chiao, joined Cheddar News to talk about the significance of this launch for the future of civilian launches and to discuss the issue of safety. "This is opening space up to more people, raising more awareness, which is good for the entire industry," Chiao said. He also discussed the nature of pricing the tickets for space tourism.
The most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency is also the least eco-friendly - data shows that Bitcoin mining generates the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire country of Thailand. According to nonprofit Fair Planet, 96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions come from Bitcoin mining every year. Now, a consortium of climate activist groups is calling on the Bitcoin industry to cut its energy use by making changes to its software code. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A cannabis software startup is offering a first-of-its-kind perk for its employees - reimbursements for legal cannabis purchases. Jointly Better bills itself as an experience-based cannabis wellness tracker and product platform. In an attempt to attract top talent, the company will reimburse up to $150 a month for its workers' lawful cannabis purchases. David Kooi, co-founder and CEO of Jointly, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Catching you up on what you need to know on Mar 31, 2022, with updates on Biden's push for more COVID funding, a wave of storms hammering the South, Etsy sellers going on strike, and more.
President Joe Biden has gotten a second booster dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, and he used the occasion Wednesday to call on Congress to pass billions of dollars in additional funding to fight the pandemic.
Catching you up on what you need to know on March 30, 2022, with updates on what is happening in Kyiv, the FDA releases plans for a fourth dose of COVID vaccines, COVID subvariant BA.2 becomes dominant variant in the U.S., employees at Conde Nast form a union, and more.
A NASA astronaut is back on Earth after a yearlong, record-setting spaceflight. He caught a Russian ride from the International Space Station on Wednesday with two cosmonauts.
Blue Origin is gearing up for its first launch of the year, set for March 31st, but it's not the only one. NASA is also days away from making history with its first private mission to the International Space Station. Three amateur astronauts, who have each paid about $55 million for their seat, will reach the ISS and spend eight days at the off-earth outpost. Jim Cantrell, CEO and co-founder of Phantom Space, joins Cheddar News to discuss what the future of space tourism may look like.
