Health News: Pigeons Can Detect Cancer, Scientists Say
Cancer has been one of the top issues that scientists and researchers have tried to topple, with many saying that early detection is a key factor that will help doctors determine what is the most appropriate treatment for patients.
A recent study reveals that pigeons can actually learn how to identify cancer, with proper teaching. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that the most criticized breed of birds actually showed the highest potential in the efforts to detect cancer earlier.
Aside from being taught how to detect one of the world's most hated group of diseases, the study says pigeons have also showed latency in helping doctors during training.
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Dr. Richard Levenson, a professor and chair for strategic technologies in the department of medical pathology and laboratory medicine at University of California-Davis Medical Center, collaborated with Dr. Ed Wasserman, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Iowa, in order to find out if pigeons could "do pathology."
Levenson's interest stemmed from earlier studies that said pigeons are able to make use of visual clues to categorize objects, as well as differentiate between A and B and other letters of the alphabet.
Additionally, CNN says this particular breed can see through ultraviolet light, meaning they can see a greater number of light wavelengths than man does.
Due to the earlier studies that prove how pigeons can be "intellectually playful," Levenson and Wasserman experimented on pigeons and their ability to cope with visual challenges that probably eagles and other breeds with great visuals can successfully conquer.
The experts then came up with slides that showed images of cancer cells, non-cancerous cells, and breast tissue samples. The birds had to choose which sample showed malignant cancer cells and which showed benign cells.
Their efforts weren't in vain as 15 days of training with 8 pigeons revealed that the birds were able to tell at 85 percent which image showed the malignant cancer cells. Another thing that the scientists found is the significance of team work as the accuracy in detecting the cancer cell images were much higher when the birds worked together as a team.
CNN says Levenson and his team aren't suggesting that experts in the field can one day be replaced by pigeons, but they are looking forward to further studying if the birds can possibly be trained for more advanced medical diagnostic testing.
