Dutch Bees Can Detect COVID

Image:Shutterstock: Soumyabrata Roy

Dutch researchers are beginning to train bees to detect COVID in a new project that could provide low income countries with an alternative testing method to PCR.

To train the bees, scientists in the bio-veterinary research laboratory at Wageningen University gave them sugary water as a reward after showing them samples infected with Covid-19. The system was designed so that bees would spontaneous extend their tongues to receive a reward when presented with an infected sample. If successful, this test could cut waiting times for results to mere seconds.

Produced By: Andrew Herlinger

Featured In Story: Dr Nadine Chapman, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, , and Caitlyn Forster, PhD student, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney

First aired on The Wire, Monday 10 May 2021