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Sunday 26 January 2014

Fruit fly's antenna can Detect Scent of Cancer!

Fruit flies can use their olfactory sense to distinguish between malignant and healthy cells. The researchers of the University of Konstanz and the University La Sapienza in Rome, Italy, have led out this research. Basic concept behind this research is based how characteristic patterns in the olfactory receptors of transgenic Drosophilae can be recorded on the scent activation. Along with the clear distinction between healthy cells and cancer cells; groupings could also be identified among the different cancer cells. According to Giovanni Galizia, such specificity, high sensitivity  and quantifiable laboratory results ca not be matched by even electronic noses or gas chromatography. This natural olfactory  system detect even extremely small differences in scent between healthy cells and cancer cells. However,This fact has already been depicted in experiments with dogs these results are not objectifiable and are thus not applicable for a systematic medical diagnosis.

The fact used by the researchers was that single odorant molecule  dock to the receptor neurons of the flies’ antenna resulting in neuron activation. It was clear in imaging technique developed by the researchers that each different odorant molecule of respective scent sample create specific pattern of activated neurons, which due to genetic modification, can fluoresce under microscope when active. In the experiment five different types of breast cancer cell lines were analyzed, compared to healthy cells and clearly divergent patterns were generated.
Alja Lüdke, member of the research unit and researcher at the University of Konstanz , explained that even different types of breast cancer cells can be differentiated via the antenna of Drosophila.
Hence researchers claim that if this finding is combined with the current technology, it can lead to the development of a cheap, fast and highly-efficient pre-screening that can detect cancer cells well before we can discover them with the present diagnostic imaging techniques