not your average gum

Soon, chewing gum just may be good for your health. Volatile Analysis, an Alabama-based company, has entered into the first phase of developing a gum designed to determine whether a person has cancer. Although the science behind the cancer-detecting gum may be sophisticated, here’s the general idea: The gum absorbs what are known as “volatiles” in a person’s saliva as they chew it. The chewed gum is then sent to a lab for analysis to determine whether it contains certain chemical compounds produced in the body of a cancer patient. Volatile compounds di er for various types of cancer. The idea is that, based on the compounds found, doctors will be able to determine what type of cancer is present. Stay tuned for further developments!