Wastewater monitoring took off during the COVID-19 pandemic – and here's how it could help head off future outbreaks

Over 800 sites across the US report coronavirus data from sewage to the CDC. Here’s how this kind of surveillance system works and what it can and can’t tell you.

Carol Wilusz, Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University • conversation
May 4, 2022 • ~10 min

Environmental DNA – how a tool used to detect endangered wildlife ended up helping fight the COVID-19 pandemic

Technology that can identify stray bits of genetic material in the environment can help scientists monitor human and animal health.

Liam Whitmore, PhD Candidate, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick • conversation
April 21, 2021 • ~8 min

Testing sewage can give school districts, campuses and businesses a heads-up on the spread of COVID-19

As the world waits for vaccines against COVID-19, testing wastewater can give communities and smaller locales, such as school districts, valuable signals about infections trends.

Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona • conversation
Nov. 24, 2020 • ~11 min

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