What happens when you pair honeybees and halitosis? Potentially a life-saving new method to screen for cancer, according to one study.

Researchers at Michigan State University have learned that honeybees can detect chemicals associated with lung cancer in human breath. The insects were able to sniff out human lung cancer biomarkers with a remarkable 82% success rate, according to a study published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 

“These results indicate that the honeybee olfactory system can be used as a sensitive biological gas sensor to detect human lung cancer,” the study authors wrote. 

“Insects have an amazing sense of smell the same way dogs do,” said MSU professor Debajit Saha, according to an MSU news release.

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Saha, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and MSU’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, sought to determine whether honeybees could distinguish chemicals in a healthy person’s breath from that of someone sick with lung cancer. 

His team developed a “recipe” for a synthetic breath mixture that contained six compounds present in the breath of someone with cancer and a synthetic “healthy” breath mixture.

“It took a steady hand to create the recipe,” said Elyssa Cox, Saha’s former lab manager. “We tested the synthetic lung cancer versus healthy human breath mixtures on approximately 20 bees.”

The researchers placed each live bee in a custom 3D-printed harness and attached a tiny electrode to its brain to measure activity. 

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. An estimated 235,580 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2024 in the U.S., according to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation.  (Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen/iStock)

“We pass those odors on to the antenna of the honeybees and recorded the neural signals from their brain,” said Saha. “We see a change in the honeybee’s neural firing response.”

The researchers found that the bees were able to detect the cancer-indicating compounds even in small amounts. 

“The honeybees detected very small concentrations; it was a very strong result,” said Saha. “Bees can differentiate between minute changes in the chemical concentrations of the breath mixture, which is in the parts per 1 billion range.”

The bees also could tell the difference between the synthetic lung cancer breath and healthy breath.

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A honey bee visits a blooming catmint plant growing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Scientists hope this research will lead to the development of a sensor based on a honeybee brain that can be used to test human breath for the presence of lung cancer.

“What’s amazing is the honeybees’ ability to not only detect cancer cells, but also distinguish between cell lines of various types of lung cancer,” said Autumn McLane-Svoboda, a graduate student on Saha’s team. “The future implications for this are huge, as our sensor could allow for patients to receive specific cancer diagnoses quickly, which is imperative for correct treatment routes.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. An estimated 235,580 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2024 in the U.S., according to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. 

Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer and is responsible for 80% of lung cancer deaths. 

Early detection of high-risk lung cancer can reduce the chance of death by up to 20%. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that COVID vaccine manufacturers update their formulas for fall doses, in an attempt to target the KP.2 strain of the JN.1 variant.

The Thursday announcement came just a week after the agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted to recommend a “monovalent JN.1-lineage vaccine” at its June 5 meeting.

As of the end of March 2024, the KP.2 variant was responsible for just 4% of infections in the U.S., according to the COVID Data Tracker from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Meanwhile, over 50% of infections at that time were attributed to its parental strain, JN.1.

Just a few weeks later, KP.2 is now the cause of around 28% of infections, while the JN.1 variants have largely dropped in prevalence, the tracker shows.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, recently spoke with Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration, about the new vaccine formulations.

“It makes sense to target the KP.2 strain because it is becoming the predominant strain — it is surging in California and will spread across the country,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.

KP.2 is now the cause of around 28% of infections, while the JN.1 variants have largely dropped in prevalence, CDC Tracker data shows. (iStock)

The KP.2 strain is “highly immunoevasive,” the doctor warned — which means that immunity from previous variants and subvariants don’t offer much protection.

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“On the other hand, the vaccine will cause a production of immune cells and antibodies that will continue to protect you against previous variants and subvariants,” Siegel added.

The updated vaccine is especially important for high-risk groups, those who have chronic illnesses, the elderly and anyone who comes in contact with them, according to doctors. (iStock)

It is especially important for high-risk groups, those who have chronic illnesses, the elderly and anyone who comes in contact with them, according to the doctor.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, vaccine maker Novavax — which makes protein-based vaccines — said the company “just filed” its application for a JN.1 COVID vaccine. 

A vial of the Phase 3 Novavax coronavirus vaccine is seen ready for use in the trial at St. George’s University hospital in London, on Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

“Novavax’s updated JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine is active against current circulating strains, including KP.2 and KP.3,” the company said in a press release.

“The submission is in line with guidance from the U.S. FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to target the JN.1 lineage this fall.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Pfizer and Moderna — both of which produce mRNA-based vaccines — requesting comment on their plans for fall formulations.

Heart disease has been the world’s No. 1 killer for over a century, and experts predict that it will become even more prevalent in the coming decades.

A report this month from the American Heart Association (AHA) predicts that at least six in 10 U.S. adults could experience cardiovascular disease within the next 30 years.

The rate of hypertension (high blood pressure) — which is one of the key risk factors for heart disease — is expected to increase from 51.2% in 2020 to 61.0% in 2050.

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Diabetes, another major risk factor, is also expected to rise (16.3% to 26.8%), along with obesity (43.1% to 60.6%), according to the study, which was published in the AHA journal Circulation.

As a result, total cardiovascular disease is predicted to rise from 11.3% to 15.0% between 2020 and 2050.

“The landscape of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. is seeing the arrival of a near-perfect storm,” Dr. Dhruv S. Kazi, vice chair of the advisory writing group and a Boston cardiologist, said in a press release.

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“The last decade has seen a surge of cardiovascular risk factors, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, each of which raises the risks of developing heart disease and stroke,” he continued. 

“It is not surprising that an enormous increase in cardiovascular risk factors and diseases will produce a substantial economic burden.”

As a result of the risk factors identified in the study, total cardiovascular disease is predicted to rise from 11.3% to 15.0% between 2020 and 2050. (iStock)

On a positive note, the researchers determined that hypercholesterolemia (high levels of LDL, or “bad cholesterol”), will decline (45.8% to 24.0%).

They also predicted that diet, exercise and smoking habits will improve, although sleep quality is expected to worsen.

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The researchers analyzed data from the 2015 to March 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2015 to 2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

“We projected through 2050, overall and by age and race and ethnicity, accounting for changes in disease prevalence and demographics,” they wrote.

“[The] most adverse trends are projected to be worse among people identifying as American Indian/Alaska Native or multiracial, Black or Hispanic.”

Life’s Essential 8 consists of the following eight lifestyle behaviors for optimal heart health, according to the American Heart Association. (iStock/American Heart Association)

The study looked for trends in cardiovascular risk factors based on adverse levels of Life’s Essential 8 and clinical cardiovascular disease and stroke. 

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Life’s Essential 8 consists of the following eight lifestyle behaviors for optimal heart health, according to the AHA:

1. Following a healthy sleep schedule
2. Not smoking
3. Getting regular physical activity
4. Adhering to a healthy diet
5. Maintaining a healthy body weight
6. Maintaining healthy blood glucose levels
7. Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
8. Maintaining healthy blood pressure

Overall, the report predicts that clinical cardiovascular disease (affecting the heart or blood vessels) will affect 45 million adults by 2050, and clinical cardiovascular disease (including hypertension) will affect more than 184 million adults.

Overall, the report predicts that clinical cardiovascular disease (affecting the heart or blood vessels) will affect 45 million adults by 2050, and clinical cardiovascular disease (including hypertension) will affect more than 184 million adults. (iStock)

“The prevalence of many cardiovascular risk factors and most established diseases will increase over the next 30 years,” the researchers stated.

Renato Apolito, M.D., the medical director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, was not involved in the AHA study but shared his insights on the findings.

“We are all under a lot of pressure and stress to work more to make ends meet.”

One of the key factors is the projected increase in obesity in the coming decades, Apolito said in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

“Obesity is very commonly associated as a driver of hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea and hypertriglyceridemia,” he said. 

Some of the greater causes of obesity are lack of exercise and a heavy reliance on processed and fast food, he noted.

Some of the greater causes of obesity are lack of exercise and a heavy reliance on processed and fast food, a cardiologist said. (iStock)

“I suspect that as our standard of living goes up, our reliance on processed and pre-prepared food — in addition to lack of exercise and lack of sleep from our hectic work lives — will drive up obesity as the common denominator leading to all the other risk factors mentioned,” Apolito predicted.

“All of those factors put together would lead to an increase in coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke.”

Reducing the risk

“Clinical and public health interventions are needed to effectively manage, stem and even reverse these adverse trends,” the researchers advised.

Apolito agreed that change is needed.

“We are all under a lot of pressure and stress to work more to make ends meet,” he said. 

“This typically leads to the bad lifestyle habits mentioned above.”

The doctor recommends starting small, setting aside just 10 to 20 minutes per day to do some form of exercise and to make conscious decisions to avoid processed and fast foods.

A cardiologist recommends starting small, setting aside just 10 to 20 minutes per day to do some form of exercise and to make conscious decisions to avoid processed and fast foods. (iStock)

“You would maintain a healthier weight, which would mitigate your risk of hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, dyslipidemia and, ultimately, cardiovascular disease,” he said.

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Apolito also pointed out that the study is speculative, using predictive models on data from the past and present to predict the future — “which is never easy to do.”

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“Hopefully, with increased public education, we can turn the tide and improve overall health in the coming decades by making healthy choices in lifestyle,” he added.