New research could provide the basis for devices that use insect sensory neurons to enable the early detection of cancer using only a patient's breath.

"People use pigs for finding truffles. It's a similar approach—using a biological organism—this is just a bit more sophisticated."

COVID-19, plus civil conflicts, hotter and drier weather in many areas, and a locust invasion in Africa and the Middle East, could submit tens of millions of people to famine.