1. LUNG CANCER
Scientists have already known that some animals are able to sniff out certain diseases. Working off of this idea, researchers have been trying to develop an “electronic nose" technology. This would work by detaching different profiles of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath samples, according to the press release from 2013. Although researchers are not able to clearly identify which VOCs are linked to different diseases, the study suggests that it is possible for an electronic nose to differentiate lung cancer from different lung conditions and healthy people. Out of a group of 128 nonsmokers and 114 smokers, the technology only misdiagnosed 10 individuals. “We have shown that it is possible to use breath tests to correctly identify lung cancer with a high sensitivity rate. The results of our study take us one step further to understand this important new technology,” lead author Maris Bukovskis explained in the press release.