Can pigeons really detect cancer? The answer is yes. Scientists have discovered that you can teach a pigeon how to detect cancer. These kinds of birds can see more wavelengths of light than we can. And that's pretty cool comparing our brains to their tiny ones. Studies have shown that pigeons can use visual cues to put objects into categories and can recognize you even if you change clothes. 15 pigeons were tested to see if their theory was correct. They placed each bird in a box and they were shown images of cancer cells and some normal cells. If the bird thought they were cancerous, they pecked the box. The birds got more than 85% of them right. They did better with colored images.
This is very amazing to learn about. These are just ordinary birds that can help others with cancer. It's truly amazing how mammals are changing for the better. This kinda reminded me of world war 1. During the war, birds were used as mailmen to transport important messages around the country.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/health/pigeons-as-cancer-detectors/index.html
I think that's very cool. Maybe one day cancer deaths can decrease because they were caught early on. (Alejandra Hernandez 6th period)
ReplyDeleteCancer is a scary thing, and it is sad to think about the amount of people and families it harms each day. It is great to know of any possible solution.
ReplyDeleteJasmine Rodriguez Period 4