Image of the Day: disease-detecting bees in a giant glass bowl

Bees have a pretty good sense of smell. So good in fact that Susana Soares has been studying practical applications for this extraordinary skill. One of them involves this weird glass apparatus.

Just by breathing into one of Susana's blown glass thingies, bees can detect medical conditions like lung and skin cancer, tuberculosis and even pregnancy. Since our honey-making friends learn quickly and travel long distances with ease, they might someday be called upon to sniff out bombs and landmines, too.