Friday, June 08, 2007

COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER II

If not biotech crops or industrial agriculture, then what could be causing CCD? There is plenty of research pointing to lots of other factors.

An entomologist at the University of West Virginia contends that the issue is mites. He has developed a product that consists of lemon grass and spearmint that seems to be protecting hives. Many studies suggest that a protozoan parasite called Nosema ceranae may be playing a role. Another team of scientists at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and University of California San Francisco have identified a virus that may be responsible.

It is just too early to start pointing fingers at just one thing. If it turns our to be transgenic crops, then this will be the first negative impact ever cited! And of course, because transgenic crops are produced by making small precise changes in plants, they can likely be tweaked to alleviate the problem.

SOURCE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070518144833.htm

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