They find that mosquitoes can smell first …

A scientific team from the University of Tokyo, Japan, determined after extensive research that there is a link between mosquitoes and their ability to detect human cancer.

The group of specialists, led by the professor Shoji Takeuchi, found that these little insects are able to smell cancer in a human patient, even if that person is at an early stage of the disease.

Mosquitoes have an extraordinary sense of smell which, as a result of this new scientific research, they will become the center of attention for their medical possibilities.

The study, published in Sciences Advances, reveals that flying insects use their olfactory cells to quickly detect a particular odor that prevails on the breath of a person with cancer.

These mosquitoes have up to 100 different types of odor receptors, located in their olfactory cells, and each of them can detect a specific odor. When these receptors connect to particular odor molecules, their molecular membranes open to allow odor ions to enter the cell and be easily identified.

Additionally, they have been shown to detect octenol, a chemical found in human sweat which is also one of the indicators that a person has liver cancer.

How was the study

Takeuchi’s team created an artificial cell membrane embedded in an odor receptor, like that of the mosquito, to detect octenol, while developing a sensor to detect the electric current created when ions pass through the artificial membrane.

The prototype, the size of a lunchbox, is able to detect octenol at a concentration of 0.5 parts per billion in breath samples in as little as 10 minutes.

According to the Japanese research team, this is an incredibly inexpensive way to find cancer. Scientists hope this new method of detecting cancer can be used for medical purposes within the next decade.

Mosquitoes pose a great threat to millions of people around the world, as they are vectors of parasites and vital pathogens, such as dengue fever, malaria or the Zika virus.

For its part, cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and it is estimated that annual cancer cases will increase from 14 million in 2012 to around 22 million over the next two decades.

So far, there has been very little contrasting evidence for the relationship between mosquito-borne diseases and cancer, and very few studies have actually succeeded in examining the profound connection between these two global threats.