Bee Vaccine

Bee Vaccin

Question: Which of the following countries’ scientists have developed a vaccine for bees?
(a) Finland
(b) USA
(c) Canada
(d) Germany
Answer: (a)
Related facts:

  • Scientist from Finland have developed what they believe is the world’s first vaccine to protect bees against disease.
  • Bees are vital for growing the world’s food as they help to fertilize three out of four crops around the globe, by transferring pollen form male to female flowers.
  • In recent years bee populations around the world have been dying off form “colony collapse disorder”, a mysterious scourge blamed on mites, pesticides, virus, fungus, or some combination of these factors.
  • UN-led research in 2016 found that more than 40 percent of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, are facing extinction.
  • The study also found that 16.5% of vertebrate pollinators, such as birds and bats, are under threat.
  • The vaccine, developed by a team at Helsinki University in Finland, works by giving bees resistance to fight off severe microbial diseases that can be total for pollinator communities.

Links:
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/scientists-engineer-bee-vaccine-to-help-the-pollinator-fight-off-insect-apocalypse-5742281.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-06/world-s-first-honey-bee-vaccine-seeks-to-save-dying-pollinators
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/12/07/674587061/worlds-first-insect-vaccine-could-help-bees-fight-off-deadly-disease