Covid-sniffing bees

Scientists have devised an innovative way to test for Covid-19, reports The Washington Post: getting bees to sniff it out. The idea came from a Dutch startup that had been training the odor-sensitive insects to detect mineral-rich ore and land mines. For the latest project, researchers cooled down 150 bees to make them less active, strapped the insects into harnesses, and then used a Pavlovian conditioning method to teach them the unique scent of the coronavirus. Each time the bees were exposed to a viruspositive test sample they were also given a delicious sugar-water solution—which the bees drank by extending their tongues. When they were given a negative sample, they received no reward. Within hours the bees were sticking out their tongues when presented with the virus, even when no sugar water was offered. The researchers think the bees could be used in low-income countries with limited access to sophisticated testing technology. “If this is going to work,” says lead researcher Wim van der Poel, “it can be very fast and very cheap.”