Many animals and insects possess extraordinarily acute senses of smell—and researchers are putting that talent to use in surprising ways. From disease diagnosis to landmine detection, these creatures are sniffing out problems humans can’t always sense. Below is a roundup of some of these amazing scent-detecting animals and the roles they play.
Dog
Dogs are already famous for scent work: police, customs, search-and-rescue, and drug detection. But their olfactory power goes even further. They can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by various cancers and diseases. Compared with humans’ 6 million olfactory receptors, dogs may have up to 300 million, and their brain regions for interpreting odor are much more developed.
Fruit Fly
These tiny insects have impressively sensitive odor receptors. Studies indicate that fruit flies can respond to the smell of VOCs released by cancer cells, even when those compounds are present at very low levels.
Mouse
Mice have been trained to detect illness in other animals. For instance, in parts of Asia, mice learned to smell avian flu in poultry. Their ability to detect pathogens makes them useful models in efforts to speed detection of disease outbreaks.
Rat
Belgian scientists have tapped the keen noses of giant African pouched rats. These rats are trained to detect TNT and other explosives, often used to sniff out unexploded landmines. They work by scratching or biting the ground at the source of the odor. Because they’re small, light, and inexpensive to train, they offer several advantages over traditional mine-detection methods.
Honeybee
Honeybees are also making their way into scent-detection work. They can detect explosive residues at extremely low concentrations (down to parts per trillion). Their olfactory acuity and short training times make them promising candidates for various detection tasks.
Scientists are also striving to replicate this olfactory precision in machines, but to date animal noses still outperform man-made sensors in many respects. The natural scent perception of these creatures remains beyond what we can fully replicate, at least for now.
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