Scientists have revealed the first vaccine for insects, and hope it could help save the honeybee.
Called PrimeBEE, it is designed to protect bees from American foulbrood, a bacterial disease that has been wiping out entire colonies.
The vaccine, which is edible, 'protects bees from diseases while protecting global food production,' the university said.
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Called PrimeBEE, it is designed to protect bees from American foulbrood, a bacterial disease that has been wiping out entire colonies. Pictured, a colony of honeybees at the United States Department of Agriculture's Bee Research Laboratory
'Pollinators falling ill and dying is a serious threat to the global food economy, said Dalial Freitak, a University of Helsinki scientist who developed the vaccine.
'Even a slight improvement in their life has vast significance on a global scale,' he said.
The goal is to protect the bees against American foulbrood, a bacterial disease caused by the spore-forming Paenibacillus larvae.
The vaccine, which is still in development, is groundbreaking as the insects immune systems do not contain antibodies, so traditional vaccines don't work.
'Now we've discovered the mechanism to show that you can actually vaccinate them.
'You can transfer a signal from one generation to another,' Freitak said.
The disease is the 'most widespread and destructive of the bee brood diseases,' the university added.
To distribute the vaccine, scientists place a sugar patty in the hive, which the queen then eats over the course of about a week.
Once ingested, the pathogens in the patty are then passed into the queen's eggs, 'where they work as inducers for future immune responses,'
American foulbrood (AFB) is a fatal bacterial disease of honey bee brood caused by the spore forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae.
Heavy infections can affect most of the brood, severely weakening the colony and eventually killing it.
The disease is not able to be cured, meaning that destruction of infected colonies and hives or irradiation of infected material is the only way to manage AFB.
Although AFB is not highly contagious, bacterial spores can easily be spread between hives and apiaries through beekeeping practices such as through the exchange of equipment and movement of infected combs.
AFB spores can remain viable for over 50 years and are very resistant to freezing and high temperatures.
WHAT IS THE HONEYBEE CRISIS?
Honeybees, both domestic and wild, are responsible for around 80 per cent of worldwide pollination, according to Greenpeace.
But bee colony collapses across the globe are threatening their vital work.
Bees are dying from a combination of pesticides, habitat destruction, drought, nutrition deficit, global warming and air pollution among other factors.
The global bee crisis can potentially be solved if dangerous pesticides are eliminated, wild habitats are preserved and ecological agriculture is restored, according to Greenpeace (file photo)
Greenpeace has reported: 'The bottom line is that we know humans are largely responsible for the two most prominent causes: Pesticides and habitat loss.'
This is important for a number of reasons, chief among them the amount of work bees put into our food production.
Vegetables, nuts and fruits are pollinated by bees. Of the top human food crops, a whopping 70 of 100 are pollinated by the creatures, which account for as much as 90 per cent of global nutrition.
Greenpeace has suggested the following solutions to the problem:
- The preservation of wild habitats in order to protect pollinator health
- The restoration of ecological agriculture
- The elimination of the world's most dangerous pesticides
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/07/could-the-worlds-first-bee-vaccine-save-honeybees/
Main photo article Scientists have revealed the first vaccine for insects, and hope it could help save the honeybee.
Called PrimeBEE, it is designed to protect bees from American foulbrood, a bacterial disease that has been wiping out entire colonies.
The vaccine, which is edible, ‘protects bees from ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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