Poop To The Rescue
When dealing with a pandemic, information is power. Take the coronavirus. Knowing where it is and how many people have been affected is vital to its containment and eventual eradication. We’ve mostly obtained pertinent data on COVID-19 with massive testing of people with symptoms and keeping track of the number of positives over time. Although effective, this method sometimes misses cases where a patient’s symptoms aren’t severe enough. Good news is, scientists believe they’ve stumbled upon a solution that wouldn’t require individual tests but could track the infection. The answer: good ol’ sewage, or poop. Scientists say poop isn’t just the remains of the food you ate, but includes waste your body wants to get rid of, such as dead white blood cells, microbes and, yes, viruses. Host Hank Green brings us the details in this edition of SciShow.
ARVE error: need id and provider
