Mar 6 2008Bee's Project Art Exhibit Detects Diseases
MOMA Online has an exhibit entitled Design and the Elastic Mind which is a bunch of different projects combining art and science. The Bee's Project is one of these. Basically it consists of a number of glass vessels with bees inside. Taking advantage of a bee's highly sophisticated sense of smell, they are trained to detect different diseases, from cancer to pregnancy (which, in my wife's case, IS a disease). If the bees sense a certain odor when a user blows into the device they will fly into a corresponding chamber, indicating the presence of whatever disease they've been trained to detect. Or if you have shit-breath then the bees all congregate in the bottom. You know, because you killed them all.
A couple more pictures and a link to the exhibit after the jump.
Design and the Elastic Mind
via
Bees Sniff It Out [electroplankton]
Reader Comments
1. daguz - March 6, 2008 2:17 PM
Well, isnt that just the bees knees?
2. monica - March 6, 2008 2:37 PM
Being the hypochondriac that I am, I'd buy the art and keep the poor bees in my home, breathing on them everyday.
3. Alan Smith - March 6, 2008 2:50 PM
Those are some nice bongs
4. wiinja - March 6, 2008 2:51 PM
hehe, she's getting buzzed
5. pete - March 6, 2008 2:53 PM
Whats the incentive for the bees to go to the right chamber?
For all I know they're joking around, and lie about me having cancer, when all I really have is genital warts and syphilis. I don't need a bee to tell me that!
6. Atrides - March 6, 2008 3:19 PM
Those bees are awfully smart. I tried it once, and sure enough, I didn't have cancer or diabetes or anything (thank God!). Unfortunately, when the little bastards flew out of the tube and into my mouth, I found out the hard way that I'm severly allergic to them. So now I'm dead. Shitty...
7. conewango - March 6, 2008 3:45 PM
but imagine....you are just out for a lovely day at the museum. "oh, this looks neat. how cute, little bees." and then, BAM, the bees tell you you've got cancer. what a horrible way to find out.
8. SlowMonkey - March 6, 2008 6:57 PM
From the reports I've read, dogs can do this better. And you can't accidentally inhale a dog.
9. nicole - March 6, 2008 9:16 PM
whats the disease? the disease can't be STD , haha, a joke! i
10. Michael Brown - March 6, 2008 11:02 PM
"And you can't accidentally inhale a dog."
You'd be surprised - never been to college have you?
11. loyd - February 10, 2009 6:18 PM
im pretty sure thats what we have doctors for?
12. Richard - April 12, 2009 5:12 AM
@11
When was the last time you had a doctor smell you for cancer? Doctors impliment tests for diseases, this would be a potential test.