From diabetes to cancer and dementia, scientists are developing surprising new ways to spot illnesses early
Engineers at in Japan are developing a device that uses tears to detect breast cancer
John Naish
Tears contain markers that can be used for diagnosing a broad range of diseases
HERE’S a good reason to start crying with happiness: your tears could soon save your life by providing an early warning of cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disease.
In future, they may even predict your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. And tears are not the only bodily secretions that are being used in a new generation of painless diagnostic tests. Scientists say we can also use earwax, sweat and nasal mucus to detect everything from depression to gout.