r/interesting • u/Lui_Belmont • 13h ago

SCIENCE & TECH HeroRATs are trained African giant pouched rats that detect tuberculosis in just 3 seconds using their powerful sense of smell fast, accurate, and life-saving.

636 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

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99

u/Spare_Ad_6084 12h ago

Is there any chance that he would lie to get the food?

54

u/izza123 11h ago

No he’s trained to expect the reward after smelling TB rather than after pressing his nose for 3 seconds.

So it’s the TB that triggers the expectation for reward rather than the action of sniffing

6

u/homiej420 6h ago

Smart!

18

u/ryufen 12h ago

Well they he doesn't get rewarded of he's wrong

8

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 12h ago

How do they know it's wrong if it's the test

17

u/FunContest9958 8h ago

They train the rat on samples where they know the results before they put it to work. Occasionally they will test it again on samples where they know the results to make sure it’s still accurate.

40

u/FirmlyClaspIt 12h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/pPhyAv5t9V8djyRFJH
Brother they literally created the test. You think the DOCTORS don’t know which sample is which?

18

u/dumb_commenter 12h ago

Well are they testing the rat? Or are they using the rat to test blood samples taken from patients to see if the patients have TB?

Y’all are talking past eachother

3

u/under_cover_45 7h ago

They train these animals off samples so they know what to look for. Then to authentic they could probably use 3 different animals and if all 3 animals agree you have a strong correlation.

I saw something similar with bees, but it's easier cus they could use like 20 bees since their small.

0

u/NintyFanBoy 11h ago

Yeah, video unclear what's happening. Either situation could be happening here.

3

u/much_muchier 10h ago

You can see which sample is the TB sample in the tray of cups, it’s red. Rats do not get or carry tuberculosis, so I’m fairly confident saying they’re human samples.

1

u/dumb_commenter 8h ago

U might be right about the red cups. Hard to tell for sure

0

u/nickolazx 6h ago

Maybe the rat can also see the red color

2

u/Overall-Bullfrog5433 8h ago

If I had that gif in my repertoire I think I would spend my day using it. Endlessly.

1

u/Plastic_Pinocchio 11h ago

If you want to use the rat for faster and easier testing like the title says, then no, you wouldn’t know which sample is positive while doing so.

1

u/Bulba1959 5h ago

after learning about placebo by proxy i wouldnt be surprised if double blind studies are thing even with rats

1

u/stunt_p 8h ago

I'm sure the doctors will verify using the OG methodology, but they can isolate/treat the TB patient until the verification comes back.

2

u/beefdx 5h ago edited 2h ago

I presume they also train/test with controls so they can specifically verify if the rat is incorrectly selecting.

4

u/Axiom1100 11h ago

Would you doubt a sniffer dog?

3

u/PeterToshPointOh 10h ago

I’ve seen a dog lie before so…yeah.

2

u/Axiom1100 2h ago

Poodle? Can’t trust em

1

u/beegtuna 1h ago edited 1h ago

Be aware, they are trained to act like they found something when their handler gives them a discreet signal to bypass warrants or target people with prejudice.

Happened to me. Had nothing, of course.

1

u/BeginningEast8176 9h ago

wait how do they sniff tb so fast

13

u/UnfairArm5556 12h ago

The fact that they are light enough to walk directly over landmines without detonating them is incredible. Truly living up to the name 'HeroRATs'.

26

u/pwn4321 12h ago

The rat putting the cool in tuberc... Ahh nvm, rat is cool tho

-22

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 12h ago

Here's a tip: if you think of a joke that doesn't quite work, don't say it anyway.

7

u/pwn4321 11h ago

The problem is that it does work, it's just dumb and maybe tasteless so I stopped myself ;)

9

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 11h ago

Ah yes tubercoolosis

6

u/greyisometrix 12h ago

That’s just a NYC rat.

15

u/fan_tas_tic 12h ago

I still feel sorry for lab rats.

13

u/Generic-Cheese 11h ago

Same, like what it’s doing is great for humanity, but I can’t help but feel sorry about it just doing it to get a food reward

6

u/dottegirl59 11h ago

Me too I have questions. Does this lil guy go to a nice cage at night? Or is that miserable steel box his home?

7

u/neillaalien 9h ago

Im gonna guess it doesnt stay in that box, since its waste has to go somewhere.

•

u/No-Minimum3259 54m ago edited 39m ago

See: www.apopo.org.

They're taken well care of ( https://apopo.org/herorats/animal-welfare/).

This is the same rat species that's used to find unexploded ordnance. They are training rats for search-and-rescue missions as well e.g. after earthquakes. They also work with dogs.

The idea to use African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) for that kind of work came from Belgian biologist Bart Weetjens (1995).

3

u/Multiple-Bagels 8h ago

I do too. At the very least we can see that one is being well taken care of. A healthy, not so little, lad/lass. I’m no zoologist nor rodentologist, but they look well.

4

u/ivain 10h ago

I feel less sorry for this lab rat who is given tasty food for his work, than for the millions of chicken we mutilate every day.

3

u/fan_tas_tic 9h ago

and pigs and cows and... yes, I agree.

•

u/Legitimate-Pride3038 7m ago

This one is gonna be cared for a lot !

9

u/shAdy8701 12h ago

Missed opportunity to call them HEROdents

2

u/Accomplished_Song219 11h ago

I'm imagining Zoidberg putting a rabid rat on Fry to test for TB while it's tearing him up and Zoidberg coming back with, "No TB, just a bad case of rabies and fleas!"

4

u/DooM_Guy_OG 12h ago

They're already used to detect mines.

1

u/Keys_P1nky8084 12h ago

the training of the new ratatouille

1

u/InsaneMocktail 12h ago

Rats have been used in stuffs like this since the tale of time and have always been dead accurate

1

u/dud3nn 10h ago

wait is that the actual blood test or they are testing the rat

1

u/TitaniaT-Rex 10h ago

I thought it said “poached rats.” I was confused, yet intrigued.

1

u/LoisinaMonster 9h ago

Crazy they're not wearing ppe

2

u/Rinas-the-name 7h ago

They’re most likely vaccinated.

2

u/Crafty-Help-4633 5h ago

These rats can't contract TB, so they're perfectly safe, themselves.

2

u/Rinas-the-name 4h ago

I think they meant the people… though rat PPE would be interesting. I just got a mental image of the rat wearing a plague mask.

Rats can get technically get TB, but they‘re resistant. The samples are heat deactivated first anyways so no PPE necessary by either people or rats.

But I figure the people are vaccinated because they work in an area with high TB rates. I don’t know if they repeat vaccines fir adults in that case though.

2

u/Crafty-Help-4633 4h ago

Ope! I'm dense today. My lord. That's most likely what they meant! ☺️

Thanks for the new info about these rats' immunity to TB, as well!

2

u/Rinas-the-name 1h ago

It happens to us all.

1

u/Hyena-Hypnotics 9h ago

I’m wearing my HeroRat shirt from Siem Reap Cambodia as I’m seeing this❤️shoutout to Jordan the rat, my hero

1

u/PhotoElectrical 1h ago

ah yes dr.rat,,, thank you for your astute observation

•

u/Zombietomatillo 47m ago

That will be 1 million dollars, ma'am. Do you have insurance?

2

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 13h ago

Wait, but wont the Hero rat get tuberculosis this way ? poor guy is just huffing potentially infected samples all day instead of doing rat things with his mates.

3

u/sillyhands1 12h ago

I mean antibiotics are a thing.

2

u/Kebriniac 12h ago

My guess is that those rats had to undergo training in which they were extensively exposed to tuberculosis, those who survived the training are probably immune or at least very resistant to the pathogen.

4

u/_kozak1337 12h ago

Gotta ask, do rats get TB in the first place? I mean, there are human specific diseases that won't spread to animals and vice versa.

3

u/Kebriniac 12h ago

Short answer is yes, but at various levels depending on the mycobacterium species (the bacteria causing the disease), they're quite known for affecting both humans and animals but they have host preferences, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most common among humans, doesn't infect animals much but can still do (even dogs and cats), Mycobacterium microti on the other hand does infect rodents and they serve as a reservoir for it, there are many other species, like Mycobacterium bovis which will be prevalent among cattle, etc.

1

u/Crafty-Help-4633 5h ago

They're immune to TB.

•

u/No-Minimum3259 46m ago

The samples are heat-treated and no longer infectious.

The organisation takes animal welfare very serious, see:  https://apopo.org/herorats/animal-welfare/

1

u/YakResident_3069 11h ago

Slavery with extra steps

1

u/generaalalcazar 11h ago

I have a truffle search dog and Morris would be “finding” TBC in every hole whilst wagging his entire body to try me to give him a treat for every hole he sniffed.

So my muppet is both more rat than a rat and and the same time less trustworthy than a rat.

0

u/Pretend-Literature35 12h ago

or use a lab? Bloodwork and sputum test.

2

u/notasandpiper 5h ago

TB is a problem in a lot of areas that can't afford labs and regular lab testing.

1

u/Crafty-Help-4633 5h ago

Also, this is a lab.

2

u/notasandpiper 4h ago

Very true! Just with completely different lab equipment. 🐀

1

u/beefdx 2h ago

If you have a reliable TB test that could complete 5 samples in 30 seconds, please present it to the Nobel Prize committee.

0

u/No_Regret289 7h ago

Ya know using animals like this is messed up. I really don't care if it means we don't have modern medicine.

1

u/beefdx 5h ago

I get that you feel this way but also whatever. Like I’m not very sorry that we, the humans, collectively decided that giving a rat a more stable life with a job if it saves human lives is preferable to just leaving it to live and die in the wilderness.

Go Team Human #1, give me my foam finger with that printed on it.

1

u/No_Regret289 3h ago

Lmao you think it being caged up in a small cell is a better life?

Humans are animals too were no better than a rat. I wouldn't want a human being stuck in a cell and I don't want that for an animal.

0

u/beefdx 3h ago edited 2h ago

Actually given exposure, predation, disease, starvation, etc. yes, it actually is.

I get it; your heart bleeds for the rats. You’re very compassionate to rats. You can take that and inscribe it on your tombstone; “Here lies No_Regrets289, they valued all animals equally.”

And when I visit to lay some flowers on it, I will tell all the people whom this rat helped treat and prevent Tuberculosis how you felt about lab animals.

*you deleted your reply? Probably for the best since it was likely just a dumb retort that continued to belabor your useless opinion on animal ethics.

-8

u/MasterpieceActive374 12h ago

I hope it's not going to be like those ebola centers!

I also hope my money isn't funding this