April 19, 2021 University of Minnesota researchers at the Minnesota Center for Prion Research (MNPRO) have developed a novel approach to field testing chronic wasting disease (CWD). The team confirmed their findings in southeast Minnesota the week of March 8, 2021, making them the first-ever scientists to successfully deploy a CWD field test. There are limited testing options available for CWD, leading scientists to investigate several new approaches with the hopes of obstructing the disease’s spread. Last spring, the MNPRO team worked with the Minnesota DNR to analyze tissue samples from CWD-positive white-tailed deer using a technique known as RT-QuIC. The team managed to obtain confirmation of protein-misfolding in just nine hours with that approach. Only a handful of labs currently have access to this top-of-the-line technology for CWD testing.