Now bees detect the Corona virus in a few seconds .. What is the story?
Dutch researchers have trained bees, who have an unusually strong sense of smell, to identify samples infected with the emerging corona virus. A finding they said could reduce waiting times for test results to just seconds. According to the agency «Reuters».
How did bees help to test samples of people infected with Corona virus?
To train bees for this task, scientists at the Veterinary Research Laboratory at the University of "Wageningen" gave sugar-sweetened water as a reward after displaying them on samples contaminated with the virus. In return, the bees were denied the reward after displaying them on samples not infected with the virus.
After the bees became accustomed to the system, they were able to automatically extend their tongues to get that reward when they were presented with an infected sample, said Wim van der Boll, a professor of virology who was involved in the project. With virus. Noting that extending the bees' tongues to drink is a confirmation of positive corona virus test results.
It can take hours, or days, to get the result of the Corona test. But the bee response is immediate. This method, they said, is also cheap and not at all inexpensive. This could make it useful for countries where testing is scarce.
But Dirk De Graaf, a professor who studies bees, insects and animal immunology at the University of Ghent in Belgium, said that he does not see that this technique replaces traditional forms of testing for Corona in the near future.
He added: “It is a good idea, but I prefer to do the tests, using known diagnostic tools, rather than using honey bees for this. I am a lover of bees, but I will use the bees for purposes other than detecting the virus. ”
