NASA's eNose Sniffs Out Brain Cancer

ScienceDaily is reporting that an electronic nose developed by NASA for monitoring potential leaks on the ISS may be able to sniff out brain cancer. "The electronic nose, which is to be installed on the International Space Station in order to automatically monitor the station's air, can detect contaminants within a range of one to approximately 10,000 parts per million. In a series of experiments, the Brain Mapping Foundation used NASA's electronic nose to sniff brain cancer cells and cells in other organs. Their data demonstrates that the electronic nose can sense differences in odor from normal versus cancerous cells. These experiments will help pave the way for more sophisticated biochemical analysis and experimentation."

Sniffing what?

[Corson]

Nobody knows exactly what cancer is, let alone what molecules have "diagnostic value" in cancer. Not to mention that there thousands of different cancer types. So, what is this thing sniffing?

Smellable Cancer = Metastasized?

[oneplus999]

I assume that if there is evidence of your cancer floating around, then the likely reason is that it has metastasized to your lungs, in which case you already have a really advanced stage of the cancer. In order to actually be a useful method for diagnosis, you need it to work much sooner than that.