In a study at Wagenigen University, the researchers gave ordinary honey bees a sugar solution after they smelled positive corona tests.
According to the researchers, the bees then extend their trunk when they come in contact with a positive sample.
In this way, you should be able to get an answer to a coronation test within a few seconds, instead of waiting hours or days for a lab analysis.
- This can be a useful way to detect coronavirus.
Bees are very cheap to operate and can be trained in areas where other test equipment is not available, says Wim Van Der Poel, the virologist behind the project.
Van Der Poel hopes to make his research a reality and says that the project is ready to start use within a month.
However, there is still too little data to say how effective the method is.