Using Technology to Reduce Diseases that Are Killing off the Bee Population

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Wayne Hunter, James Ellis, Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Jerry Hayes, Dave Westervelt, Eitan Glick, Michael Williams, Ilan Sela, Eyal Maori, Jeffery Pettis, Diana Cox-Foster, and Nitzan Paldi all had a hand in writing the research. The writers are associated with at many different and separate institutions. Educational institutions include University of Florida (UF), Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). Specifically, in UF the research is joined with the Department of Entomology and Nematology; in Penn State the research is partnered with the Department of Entomology; in HUJI the research is affiliated with Robert H. Smith Institute for Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture is Government affiliation used in the content of the research include the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Agricultural Research Service (ADS,) Florida Department of Agriculture all Bureau of Plant and Apiary all of which are located in Florida. In Maryland the study associated with the USDA, ARS, and the Bee Research Laboratory. Finally, the study is also affiliated with the company Beeologics INC. located in Miami Florida. The paper was published on December 23, 2010 in PLoS Pathogens. The paper is most likely aimed towards farmers and government. Honey bees, according the research, pollinate “52 of the world’s 115 leading agricultural crops… These crops represent 35% of the human diet (Hunter et al., 2010, p.1) If honey bees are dying due to the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus it will directly affect the amount of food human have readily available today. Either, there will be newer more efficient ways to stimulate pollination using technology or the bees themselves have to be worked with.... ... middle of paper ... ...(Colony Collapse Disorder) did occur as a result of IAPV. (Hunter et al., 2010, p 4) Apparently the group is the first to apply the RNAi technology in such a large field. Other researchers have offered explanations to the causes of CCD. Previous findings included that “colonies affected by CCD are infected with larger numbers of pathogenic organisms than control colonies, yet no single pathogen was found associated with all colonies”(Hunter et al., 2010, p 1). The article does not suggest any further research but another large scale design such as this experiment should be done again. If this is the only kind available it is not a guaranteed finding until other researchers come up with the same data. Works Cited Large-Scale Field Application of RNAi Technology Reducing Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus Disease in Honey Bees (Apis meillifera, Hymenoptera: Apidae)

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