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NEWS > SCIENCE > SUPER BEES MAY SOLVE THE WORLD’S FOOD CRISIS, STOP CRIME
SUPER BEES MAY SOLVE THE WORLD’S FOOD CRISIS, STOP CRIME
July 20 2011
Winnipeg, Canada – For most people the bee is a thing to be feared, even hated. After all, it stings and even kills some people. They ruin barbeques and picnics and cause general chaos when they come around. Though hardly as problematic as say a
bear or a lion, the bee nonetheless has the power to stop people dead in their tracks and send them fleeing for safety. The bee is not exactly a cute little puppy.
However, bees are essential to the ecosystem in which we live. We all know that bees create honey, but their effectiveness as pollinators provide us with food, upwards of 70 percent of crops, and thus have become an essential component in the delicate environmental balance on which we still rely. Bees, though, are dying. While that may give some pleasure to lovers of the outdoors, their demise may very well result in our own collapse. As the human population of the world continues to grow, the very last thing we need is less food, exactly what will happen if the bees die off. To combat that problem researchers at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg have begun the development of a super bee, a species immune the ails that have killed off huge numbers of bees around the world in the hopes of preventing massive food shortages, and possibly preventing crime and saving cats from trees.
“There are a number of culprits contributing to the death of bee colonies including mites, viruses, pesticides, climate change and possibly cell phone use. That has 
caused a quick and massive die-off across the world, 30 per cent in Europe and North America and 85 per cent in the Middle East. This work is designed to eliminate the threat to the bees and help restore populations,” said one researcher working on the project. “Essentially we will be giving them immunity to these influences which will allow the populations to restore themselves and, ultimately, continue to pollinate our food supplies. Any side benefits will of course be welcomed.”
It’s believed that the super bees, once unleashed, will spread quickly across the world and breed rapidly.
“In literal terms, food supplies mean peace. It’s nothing for people in wealthy countries to go to the supermarket and buy anything you need but that is not case in many countries. In North America the only thing you really have to complain about is not enough cashiers on duty, but it is a little different for other people,” said Scrape TV Science analyst Dr. Howard Poe. “In poorer countries food shortages mean riots, hoarding, and out-and-out wars. Anything that contributes to their food supplies will bring about peace and stability and that is a good thing. It is very unlikely that we will see bees flying around with tiny little capes stopping criminals on the street, but that doesn’t mean they can’t bring about peace in their own way.”
At least two companies in China have begin mass producing such tiny capes and tights though researchers aren’t sure how they will get the bees to wear them.
“There is a danger here though, it’s not all upside. As we have seen in comics and movies power can have negative effects as well and with millions, even billions, of super bees flying around the world with no checks and balances it is very possible that we will create an unstoppable monster that could bring chaos even worse than food shortages,” continued Poe. “That is unlikely, admittedly, but it is something we need to be aware of. Messing with nature can have very unexpected side effects, I mean that’s what got us here in the first place, and we don’t want to make that mistake again. It could be our last mistake.”
Researchers believe they have installed effective safeguards in the super bees, a kind of remote kill switch, though bee experts are doubtful.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
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