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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: God save the Queen Bees! Swedish researchers launch drug to save dying bees, a problem that could wipe out A THIRD of what humans eat OR MORE 10 million bee hives have disappeared in 6 years The drug boosts bees' natural immune systems Bees are responsible for pollinating 80 per cent of the food humans and animals survive on Researchers from Sweden announced on Friday that they have developed a new medicine to protect bees from diseases that kill entire bee populations in the US and in Europe. They launched the drug in Russia today at an annual conference of beekeepers and have been working on the drug for ten years. The drug, invented by microbiologists at Lund University, is cleverly named SymBeeotic and helps bees survive by greatly boosting their immune systems. dying bee Close-up of a dying honeybee who may have been inflicted with foulbrood disease, the disease killing bees in the US in Europe symbeeotic Façade of the Lund university in Sweden, where the drug SymBeeotic was invented to combat foulbrood disease At first, scientists were perplexed as to how 10 million bee hives managed to disappear from the world after only 6 years. They later discovered that bee deaths could be attributed to things like pesticides, parasites, stress, and poor nutrition all of which weaken bees' immune systems. A weakened immune system makes bees more susceptible to foulbrood disease, the fatal disease known to wipe out entire populations. The drug is made of lactic acid and bacteria from the stomachs of healthy bees. Scientists believe this new drug can slow down the rate at which bees die. It is given to bees as nutrition, ideally before their winter hibernation. 'The bacteria in this product is active against both American and European foulbrood disease,' said Dr. Alexandra Vasquez who co-created the product. Alejandra Vasquez is a Lund university researcher and one of the co-creators of the drug SymBeeotic Bees are responsible for pollinating 80 percent of the food humans and animals consume The medicine is preventative as oppose to the antibiotics used to treat bees that are already infected. Antibiotics have not been entirely effective in saving the bee population. In a statement from the university, co-researcher Dr Tobias Olofsson said it was 'the only existing product that boosts bees' natural immune system', as resistance to antibiotics grows. Why save bees? Bees are vital to agriculture and human health. According to Mother Nature Network (MNN) bees are responsible for pollinating 80 per cent of our flowering crops. That's about 1/3 of food in the human diet. Not so clever now, Flipper! Experts say dolphins' whistling isn't really language, and they may be no smarter than chickens or even WORMS Rather you than me! Daredevil goes swimming through thousands of jellyfish in a lake... wearing just a BIKINI It goes beyond plants, though. Losing bees could terminate the beef and dairy industry. Other animals, such as the animals we eat, rely upon food pollinated by bees. Bee venom has also been found to have medicinal properties. It can be used for treating arthritis, multiple sclerosis and even fibromyalgia, and more recently to treat sexual dysfunction, cancer, epilepsy and depression. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
I kept honeybees when I lived in Illinois, I have been stung by them many times and am probably immune to their venom now. I wish I could get back into it, but there really is no place around here to put hives. I live in an apartment now, and you cannot even put anything on the property. That would make it the property of the landlord. So, I will be looking for a better way to do these things in the future. ;)
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
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