DUTCH BEES DETECT COVID-19 INFECTIONS

Dutch researchers have trained bees, which have an unusually keen sense of smell, to identify samples infected with COVID-19.

Scientists at Wageningen University gave the bees sugary water as a reward after showing them samples infected with COVID-19. They would get no reward after being shown a non-infected sample. Having got used to the system, the bees would spontaneously extend their tongues to receive a reward when presented with an infected sample.

The response from the bees is immediate. But too little is known about the testing to determine its true effectiveness, said Dirk de Graaf, a professor who studies bees, insects and animal immunology at Ghent University in Belgium.