Scientists look to Twin Cities sewers to find COVID variants The hunt for new strains locally is piggybacking on long-running COVID wastewater surveillance. February 15, 2021 5:34am Text size Copy shortlink:
Some of the best evidence for detecting early signs of new COVID strains in Minnesota is being flushed right down the toilet.
But scientists at the Metropolitan Council and the University of Minnesota s Genomics Center have started work to detect new strains of COVID in the wastewater flowing into the Twin Cities primary sewage treatment plant in St. Paul.
The project is an outgrowth of ongoing epidemiological work with Minnesota s wastewater. Genetic traces of the virus that causes COVID are detectable in wastewater, which is why researchers are analyzing it for early warnings about COVID hot spots.
Schenectady teachers hope T-shirts get students to show faces in online classes
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Mont Pleasant Middle School T-shirt logo two teachers at the Schenectady school hope will inspire students to appear live on-screenn for online classes.Provided
SCHENECTADY – At a time when avatars and anime cartoon characters often stare back at teachers during virtual classes, some educators at Mont Pleasant Middle School are hoping custom made T-shirts will help foster a greater sense of pride in students for their school and community.
Sixth-grade teacher Brent Vaughan said Thursday that the idea for the T-shirts at the school came to him during a recent faculty meeting about ways to get online students more engaged and build up pride.