Quintessence of Dust
18-04-2009, 15:46
This is a wee bit old, but I didn't see another thread on it. According to Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/04/a-cure-for-colony-collapse.ars), a potential major breakthrough in the fight against Colony Collapse Disorder (http://maarec.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorder.html) may have emerged:
...
A new study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology Reports may clarify things, as a team of Spanish researchers report the cause of the colony collapse disorder, and also suggest a cure. The researchers isolated the parasitic fungi Nosema ceranae from a pair of Spanish apiaries, while finding none of the other proposed causes—Varroa destructor, IAPV, or pesticides. With the identification of the invading pathogen, the team treated other diseased colonies with fumagillin—an antibiotic—and observed a complete recovery of the colony.
...
"Now that we know one strain of parasite that could be responsible, we can look for signs of infection and treat any infected colonies before the infection spreads," said Dr Higes, principle researcher on the project. While this may not be a global solution to the colony collapse disorder, if it can save a few hives, it will be cause for celebration in the apiarist community.
I know little about the underlying science of CCD, but when I heard about it 2-3 years ago I was fascinated by it, and have been intermittently following stories on it. CCD is not simply about bees dying: they are critical to the pollination process and hence play a major role in human agricultural systems, which is why an unexplained condition was so disturbing.
What we used to think (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/29/missing_bees/index.html)
What we think now (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=saving-the-honeybee)
Anyone have any particular thoughts on this?
...
A new study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology Reports may clarify things, as a team of Spanish researchers report the cause of the colony collapse disorder, and also suggest a cure. The researchers isolated the parasitic fungi Nosema ceranae from a pair of Spanish apiaries, while finding none of the other proposed causes—Varroa destructor, IAPV, or pesticides. With the identification of the invading pathogen, the team treated other diseased colonies with fumagillin—an antibiotic—and observed a complete recovery of the colony.
...
"Now that we know one strain of parasite that could be responsible, we can look for signs of infection and treat any infected colonies before the infection spreads," said Dr Higes, principle researcher on the project. While this may not be a global solution to the colony collapse disorder, if it can save a few hives, it will be cause for celebration in the apiarist community.
I know little about the underlying science of CCD, but when I heard about it 2-3 years ago I was fascinated by it, and have been intermittently following stories on it. CCD is not simply about bees dying: they are critical to the pollination process and hence play a major role in human agricultural systems, which is why an unexplained condition was so disturbing.
What we used to think (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/29/missing_bees/index.html)
What we think now (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=saving-the-honeybee)
Anyone have any particular thoughts on this?