Can odors from our bodies signal Alzheimer's, cancer and other diseases?
Researchers are increasingly looking at body odors as a noninvasive way to detect diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. Advances in machine learning and molecular detection are making these 'breathalyzer' style diagnostic tools more viable for clinical use.
Why it matters
Developing accurate, noninvasive diagnostic tools could revolutionize early disease detection and improve patient outcomes by making screening more accessible.
Sweaty underarms, Asian woman with sweat on clothes under armpit. When social anthropologist Hanna Marie Ihlebæk interviewed nurses at a Norwegian cancer ward for her PhD dissertation, she was surprised to learn that many of them relied on their sense of smell in their work. "Urine infection is really distinct, I can recognize that smell in the corridor!" one of the nurses said. Another claimed to be able to pick out digestive bleeding and cell necrosis. "I don't know what I would have done without my ability to smell," said a third.
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