Scientists in the Netherlands have trained bees to identify COVID-19 through their sense of smell, according to a press release from Wageningen University.
The research is being carried out in Wageningen University's bio-veterinary research laboratory.
The scientists train the bees by giving them a treat of a sugar water solution every time they were exposed to a scent from a sample infected with COVID-19. The bees wouldn't get a reward after being exposed to a non-infected sample.
The research was conducted on more than 150 bees using a variety of training set ups, Wageningen University said.
Once the bees were trained, the university said, the bees could identify an infected sample within a few seconds.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.