The article I read is about the effect of pesticides called Neonicotinoids on honeybees, how Europe is trying to ban the harmful substance. Neonicotinoids are applied to crop seeds and work by poisoning insects by binding to receptors in their nervous systems; this has really affected the honeybees all around the world. It also makes honeybees more vulnerable to parasitic mite. After research, it was concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to support the fact that the honeybees were dying from being poisoned, but it is very likely. Scientists are trying to conduct more research.
NOS rules:
Science is based on evidence
Science is subject to debate and is tentative
Conflicts within the scientific community
Role of skepticism
I did a blog on honeybees earlier and it relates a little bit to this idea! My article had no evidence that pesticides were killing the honeybees, but it also stated that it was the most likely reason that the numbers were dropping. I would also like to add Science is Collaborative to your list of NOS themes because there is no way that one scientist could record all of that data and do all of the research by his or herself!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's an interesting post because honey bees shouldn't be affected by poisons such as that. If those kind of toxins are meant for pests and honey bees are very much the opposite of a pest, then we as people are doing something very wrong to treat those crops with that pesticide. I was very stunned myself when I read some articles about honey bees dying in the thousands! and the scientists really had no idea why! I researched further about honey bees and these random deaths and found out how scientists think that certain mites are causing the disease. scientists who were studying the long-term toxicity of neonicotinoids also accidently ended up killing the honey bees in large numbers. I hope that the honey bees will get restored to their former numbers!http://www.registerguard.com/web/news/sevendays/29598116-55/bees-chemicals-kill-imidacloprid-bee.html.csp
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