Dutch Scientists Train Bees To Detect Coronavirus

The Washington Post reports:

The fight against the coronavirus pandemic has scientists tapping an unlikely resource: the finely tuned olfactory sense of bees. Dutch researchers on Monday said they have trained honeybees to stick out their tongues when presented with the virus’s unique scent, acting as a kind of rapid test.

Although it’s a less conventional method than lab tests, the scientists said teaching bees to diagnose the coronavirus could help fill a gap in low-income countries with limited access to more sophisticated technology, like materials for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

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Scientists say they have trained bees to stick out their tongues when they detect the coronavirus’s scent https://t.co/3kCrtX4GYh

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 7, 2021