Scientists Train Bees To Identify Coronavirus Infection

A group of Dutch scientists is enlisting the help of an unusual group of participants for a new kind of rapid COVID-19 test: bees that have been specially trained to detect the virus.

Researchers at insect technology start-up InsectSense and Wageningen University in the Netherlands announced in a press release this week that they had trained more than 150 bees in a study to identify samples containing the virus that causes COVID-19 based on its scent.

The group said that as part of the study, the bees were given a sugar water solution reward each time they were exposed to an infected sample, upon which the bees extended their tongues to receive the solution.

The bees, which because of their sensitivity to smells can be trained within just a few minutes to detect volatiles and odors, then associated the reward with positive samples, and began sticking out their tongues after being exposed to the COVID-19 scent alone, the researchers said.

Read more at The Hill.

{Matzav.com}