The Great Separation

News Links of Note.

Click. Wow. Click. Uh. Click. Groan. - The last couple of days have presented me with a number of news items that I've found interesting and worth passing along to you my readers. These all touch on subjects that I have posted upon in the past.

The first is in relation to bees. Here's the link: UM’s “Bee Whisperer” Tells of Honeybees’ Military Potential.

I found it because I continue to monitor the Colony Collapse Disorder (a subject that is addressed in the article) that many bee keepers are faced with in the world today. It's a news item that has a, "Wow", factor. You see, a man has found a way to train bees to find land mines!

This next item is related to my post yesterday, "I am Bone Weary of America's Licentiousness.

A study has shown that more of the tweens group are engaging in sexual behavior. Here's the link: Younger adolescents involved in sexual activity.

Here's a news item that was encouraging to me: Planned Parenthood fails to open doors. Here's a snippet:

A state law that requires abortionists to inform women – before an abortion – that the procedure "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being" apparently has done what no other pro-life protest has been able to accomplish – the closure of Planned Parenthood's abortion facility.

Here is yet another example of the fallout from the Court in California making same-sex marriage legal. Christian therapist under fire for email response.

This therapist is under fire because she voiced her Christian beliefs to fellow therapists. I applaud her for not hiding her faith.

Here's another item out of California. Academia to high schools: No God allowed.

Arguments were heard today in a federal district court case to determine whether a state university system can dictate that private Christian schools in the state teach their college prep courses from exclusively secular, Bible- and God-free textbooks.

Here's the final item in my list today. PBS documentary denies inerrancy of scripture. There's apparently a forth coming Nova program that argues things such as the story of Abraham being fictious.

Seeing some of the news items sure does make it hard to understand how some people continue to operate under the false belief that Christianity isn't under attack in America today.

The Great Separation continues.

Some News of Colony Collapse Disorder.

Still dying off. - I haven't had an update on CCD in a while because the information has for the most part been unchanged. But here's a quick link and bit of news on the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder striking down a large number of bee hives across the US and some new research into the cause.

Honey Bee Losses Continue To Rise In U.S.:

A recent survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America found that losses nationwide topped 36 percent of managed hives between September 2007 and March 2008, compared to a 31 percent loss during the same period a year earlier.

So apparently there's been an increase in loss of 5% - keep in mind that not all were lost to CCD.

The good news is that some are making headway into discovering the source of the problem. One such source might be the Israeli acute paralysis virus. Though according to the press release linked to above, researchers are intimating that it could well be a combination of a number of factors like the virus and pesticides.

Genetically Engineered Crops Killing Bees?

Buzz kill - It's been a while since I posted anything on the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) affecting many American bee colonies. That is in part to a lack of headway in understanding what is causing the disorder.

Today I looked and found this news article from the Star-Gazette by Olivia Johnson.

Scientists around the world have been hunting for the source of this bee decline, and according to studies conducted by the Organic Consumers Association, genetically engineered crops may be to blame. Many genetically adapted plants have been modified to contain b.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis -- a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae.

When a honeybee interacts with pollen treated with b.t., the immune system of the insect is shut down and the bee is then much more susceptible to bacteria and viruses. In addition, b.t. has proved to affect the bee's fertility, resulting in fewer offspring. In some parts of the country, the bee population has decreased as much as 35 percent within the last year, and almost 50 percent in the last 10 years, according to the USDA.

Something to think about. If it's killing insects I wonder if it affects humans over large periods of time?

Asian Parasite might be Reason for Bee Disappearances.

Small can be deadly too - There are two news items this morning that try to shed light on the Colony Collapse Disorder affecting beehives worldwide.

Gulf Weekly reports that some scientists think the problem may be a tiny parasite attacking the bees.

In April, Californian investigators said a single-celled parasite, Nosema ceranae, might be to blame. Other researchers say the fungus indicated a suppressed immune system.

Canada's CBCNews also reports that the parasite has recently been found in the Canadian beehives and is being considered as a source of CCD. But there is a but:

However Agriculture Canada's leading bee scientist, Steve Pernal, is taking the sting out of that theory.

Pernal says although this parasite has just been identified in Canadian hives, evidence from frozen bee samples in the U.S. shows it's been there since the 1990s.

"If it's been around that long, and if it is such a big problem, I think we would have encountered it before."

So I guess the jury is still out on the cause.

Imidacloprid Suspected in Colony Colapse Disorder.

An insecticide's to blame? - Here's an interesting article on the Colony Collapse Disorder facing the Bee Hive industry.

Amy Ellis Nutt reports: Suspect in bee die-off: Insecticide Widely used bug spray may be behind deaths of millions of bees- mlive.com.

The chief suspect, say many scientists, is imidacloprid, the most commonly used insecticide on the planet.

Honeybees come into contact with pesticides because they are needed to pollinate scores of crops, including apples, cherries, blueberries and other crops in southwestern Michigan. The die-off has been a major concern for farmers and scientists, who have been looking into potential causes, from diseases and parasites to pesticides.

A member of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, imidacloprid is a synthetic derivative of nicotine and works by impairing the central nervous system of insects, causing their neurons to fire uncontrollably and eventually leading to muscle paralysis and death.

At first it's hard for me to understand why something so widely used should now be causing a problem. But the use of this chemical has grown from being used on select crops to almost ubiquitous across the board use from farming to home lawns.

The article makes mention that France was faced with a huge bee die off that many there associated with this chemical and it's use was banned from several uses there.

Also noted is that this insecticide is not necessarily the culprit and so further testing is underway.

Here's another quote from the article that is intriguing to me in how this chemical works on termites:

Some U.S. entomologists who recently have been analyzing dead bees have found a remarkably high number of viruses and fungal diseases in the carcasses, leading them to suspect there may be other culprits besides neonicotinoids.

"I don't think there is one smoking gun,'' Hayes said. "When neonicotinoids are used on termites, they can't remember how to get home, they stop eating, and then the fungus takes over and kills them. That's one of the ways imidacloprid works on termites -- it makes them vulnerable to other natural organisms. So if you look at what's happening to honeybees, that's pretty scary.''

Bee Colony Problem is Beetle and Yeast?

Really? How amazingly odd - Technocrat has a post on some USDA research that poses some rather interesting light on what might be the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.

New research suggests that Colony Collapse Disorder may be triggered by an infestation of an African beetle, introduced to the US in 1998, which is sensitive to the bees' alarm pheromone. The beetle is attracted to the hives and then litters the hive with a type of yeast which produces the bee alarm pheromone in great quantities, attracting more beetles and confusing the bees to the point they abandon the colony. Scientists are working on developing a trap for the beetles.

I got to say that is absolutely incredible.

Centenarian Thinks He Knows What's Causing CCD.

Hint: It's Black with a Hard Shell - Here's a news item on the bee hive Colony Collapse Disorder.

Beacon News :: News :: Centenarian believes he's solved bee mystery.

Sitting with him in his room at Asbury Gardens retirement center in North Aurora, it would be easy to dismiss the 101-year-old man's theory as the rantings of a senile centenarian. Until you realize that Cummings, despite his impressive age, is still as sharp as, well, the stinger on a bee. And having worked with the little honeys for 85 years certainly helps give his theory some credence.

His theory is that a black beetle from South America is the culprit. Click over and read the full article. He's dealt with the beetle before.

For You Marty McFly Fanatics.

Back to where? - Hey, for those of you that so fell in love with Marty McFly and his super Nike shoes from the movie Back to the Future 2, you need to get on board (pun intended) with the McFLY 2015 project.

The project's hope is to get enough names to convince the Nike company to actually make these shoes for the masses.

I just don't know why someone just doesn't pop in the Delorian and jump forward for a pair?

Bring me back a hover board. I'd like to break my other foot.

Update

Here's a piece of cool news concerning the "McFLY 2015 project".

Co-founder of the project, Michael "Mickey" Maloof, just found my post and notified me that Executive Editor for CNET, Tom Merritt, signed up live on his podcast on CNET.

Interesting too, Tom, talks in the podcast about the Colony Collapse Disorder I've been blogging about lately.

[hat tip: Gizmodo]

Fungus or Bacteria Thought CCD Culprit.

There's some buzzing going on. -  Vanessa Fultz of The Suwannee Democrat has an interesting report on the current problem facing the bee industry and thus our food supply.

Suwannee Democrat - What’s the buzz on bees? (emphasis added):

The malady, called colony collapse disorder, is caused by a fungal or  bacterial infection which compromises the immune system. Researchers are still trying to determine what causes the infection. Hayes said certain pests and the chemicals used to kill them contribute to the disorder. He said honeybees can also pick up other environmental toxins that may be harmful.

You would think that they'd be able to tell whether it's fungal or bacterial but perhaps that requires further testing.

Also interesting is some of the numbers that Ms. Flutz reports. The Department of Agriculture apparently has the number of bee colonies at 2.4 million. And they expect to lose between six to seven hundred thousand colonies to the Colony Collapse Disorder.

Also startling is the notion that we will be receiving a large percentage of our crops from China in the near future. That's scary considering the recent pet food poisonings.

Too Much Cross-Country Trips for Bees?

Traveling wears me out. - : An old time bee keeper thinks that the Colony Collapse Disorder is one of travel and poor bee keeping.

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A.

"I haven't seen it happening with good beekeepers," Neal said. "I see it as a problem caused mostly by stress from frequent shipping, or it could be the corn syrup they feed to the bees when they're in heavy brood."

A bee supplier might take his bees to California for the almonds, then up to Washington State or east to Texas, and finally north to the Dakotas in the course of several months, Neal said.

Could be. I've seen this mentioned a number of times before as a suggested problem. But I'm not sure it explains the hives being left alone by predators so long after abandonment.