[size=4]Dogs Being Trained To Smell Cancer[/size=4]
[b]Animals Can Smell Scents Given Off By Tumor Cells[/b]
Updated: 10:27 a.m. EDT August 7, 2002

CLEVELAND -- Researchers have found a new way to hunt for cancer cells, possibly before even the most sensitive equipment could detect them.

They're not using expensive hospital equipment, but rather, man's best friend.

Shing Ling, 2, is more than just a furry companion for researcher Michael McCulloch.

He and other researchers are developing a pilot program to train dogs to identify who has cancer.

"(Cancer patients) have a different bouquet of odor that's detectable to the dog," he said.

McCulloch collects breath samples for both lung cancer patients and healthy patients.

Shing Ling is being trained to detect which is which.

"The project is to very carefully measure how good the dog is at distinguishing between lung cancer samples from a normal person," McCulloch said.

Dogs have 40 times the number of scent-receiving cells in their noses than humans have, making them able to sense the most minute scents given off by tumor cells.

The goal with the dogs is to detect tumors before the most sophisticated technology can.

Shing Ling's trainer commands the dog to tell him which one smells like cancer. When the dog chooses which one she thinks has the cancer scent, she taps it with her paw.

After a year and a half of perfecting the training methods, he said Shing Ling is right 87 percent of the time. But many doctors won't believe it until real evidence comes in.

McCulloch isn't the only researcher with these ideas. Scientists in Florida and England are also seeing if the dogs' noses know.

[url]http://www.local6.com/sh/health/stories/health-159874920020807-080803.html[/url]

Eric The(SeeingEyeCats?NoWay!)Hun[>]:)]

Yeah..OK but lets see a dog hack up a hairball!! huh? huh?[:D]

Gee, I never even considered [u]that[/u], [b]deadeye47[/b]!

Humanities absolute need for hairballs would, indeed, not be met without cats!

I must edit this post!

Eric The(Scooter!TakeALetter!)Hun[>]:)]

So "Lab" work is more reliable than a "Cat" scan???
[:)]

Excellent!

Eric The(Humbled)Hun[>]:)]

Uh, so now when my dog sniffs someone's crotch, can we write that off as a simple testicular/cervical cancer screening? [;)]

Yes.  But only if your [b]DOG[/b] does it.

But keep in mind, the canines ability to smell cancerous cells occurred thru millions and milions of years of random mutations, survival traits being enhanced and strengthened, and redundant, non-essential traits evolving away.

But, pray tell, just HOW did evolution develop, thru random mutation, a key survival trait, NOT key for the dog, but key for the survival of  ANOTHER ENTIRE SPECIES??????

My God is an AWESOME God.

Man that is one of the more asinine posts you have made of late Gman....you been smoking something??

My dog just licked his nuts....is that a sign from your god as well??

And that nut licking dog is smarter than you are (or I am.) Can you smell cancer cells????

THAT is a sign from God.

WTF??

Wow...so now dogs have a greater intellect than man!

Boy is the SPCA ever going to love to hear that one...

When do you plan on informing the rest of the world that man is no longer "top dog".

Damn it GMAN but you Really have let your preaching go overboard..you need to do something about it.


A dogs ability to smell has been BRED into it over generations based on original EVOLUTIONARY traits!

That is why bloodhounds track better than Whippets!!

You MIGHT say that about a general sense of smell to find food to be able to survivve, but not about the sense of smell SO KEEN as to be able to distingish cancer cells from other mutational cells. A sense of smell that keen is NOT necessary for survival -  such that the evolution mechanism could NOT POSSIBLY accomplish it.

Its illogical to hold to BOTH of the following positions:

1. Survival was the driver for evolutionary progression, and

2. Evoltutionary mechanisms produced traits not necessary for survival.



You really don't want to bring up evolutionary differentiation.

If the smelling sense is necessary for survival, logic argues it would develop equally in dogs - just the amount of smell necessary to survive.

But like you pointed out, some dogs sense of smell is better than others. And some can smell cancer cells. NOT something the evolutionary mechanism could produce.

But God could.

Jesus H CHRIST!!!

Are you this daft???

The dog does not know what the hell he is smelling.... He does not know if its Cancer or some sort of aftershave!!

It all in the training from the handlers.....have you EVER trained a dog???
A dogs nose happens to be up to 1,000,000 times more sensitive than a mans.....

A sharks senses are even better!  ALL evolutionary traits.


It is more of a case that Mankind has such a bad nose when compared to a dog..

Now answer me this....why did you oh so powerful god not allow mankind to smell sickness?  

Is taking my Saviours name in vain intended to bolster your point, or just to be generally rude and offensive??





Are you trying to insult me??



That is another issue I am NOT addressing. I'm talking about the EXISTENCE of a sense of smell that as you said is 1,000,000 times stronger than a humans. A sense of smell this strong is NOT necessary for survival, and therefore according to traditional evolutionary theory could NOT have been developed by an evolutionary mechanism.



God has a sense of humor. He's gonna tell all those that refused to beleive in Him that they could have seen his power and might thru a nut licking dog that was ALSO able to smell cancer cells.

then He's gonna judge the unbelivers for their unbeleif, when even a dog could have shown them otherwise.