Posted: August 14, 2008 at 6:23 pm
By News Editor
A new report announces that scientists the development the first test for instantly detecting beef that has been contaminated with tissue from a cow’s brain or spinal cord during slaughter — an advance in protecting against possible spread of the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Jürgen A. Richt and colleagues point out that removal of brain, spinal and other central nervous tissue after slaughter is “one of the highest priority tasks to avoid contamination of the human food chain with bovine spongiform encephalopathy,” better known as Mad Cow Disease. “No currently available method enables the real-time detection of possible central nervous system (CNS) tissue contamination on carcasses during slaughter,” the report states.
They describe a test based on detection of the fluorescent pigment lipofuscin, a substance that appears in high concentrations in the nervous tissue of cattle. The researchers found that it was a dependable indicator for the presence of brain and spinal tissue in bovine carcasses and meat cuts.
“Small quantities of bovine spinal cord were reliably detected in the presence of raw bovine skeletal muscle, fat and vertebrae. The research lays the foundation for development of a prototype device allowing real-time monitoring of CNS tissue contamination on bovine carcasses and meat cuts,” the report says.
It was done with colleagues from the National Animal Disease Center of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and Iowa State University.
Posted: August 7, 2008 at 5:57 pm
By News Editor
The recent closure of the Australian Kyabram Irrigated Research Institute has promoted the Victorian government to assured Dairy Australia that it will maintain its commitment to dairy research and development.
Dairy Australia managing director, Mike Ginnivan, said the challenges facing dairy meant that it was important that all R,D&E be directed in the most effective way, and be subject to ongoing review.
“We have been reassured, however, by the fact that the government’s stated intention is to at least maintain its investment in the dairy industry. We will be seeking to work closely with government to find solutions that deliver the best results for the industry,” Dr Ginnivan said.
Dairy Australia’s manager of farm productivity and delivery, Steve Coats, said the industry retained a commitment to R,D&E to support irrigated farming systems.
“As one part of this, the industry continues to maintain a strong presence in the region through a highly regarded dairy extension team and the largest dairy Regional Development Program, Murray Dairy. These initiatives will continue to provide services to northern Victoria and southern New South Wales.
“Despite the hurdles farmers have faced since the drought of 2002/03, there is strong evidence that farming systems are adapting to significantly less water and developing new ways to succeed during these times of higher prices,” Mr Coats said.
Posted: July 30, 2008 at 5:15 pm
By News Editor
Head over to Dr. Terry Etherton’s blog to read in detail the results of a new study that finds “no meaningful differences” in the composition of milk with three different label claims.
A new scientific study by Vicini et al. published in the July issue of the prestigious Journal of the American Dietetic Association (JADA) reports the results of the first in-depth survey study comparing retail milk for quality, nutritional value and levels of different milk hormones, including bovine somatotropin (bST). The study that we published found that there were “no meaningful differences” in the composition of milk with the three different label claims.
Posted: July 15, 2008 at 7:56 pm
By News Editor
An Australian researcher who studied nutritional benefits of dairy food, was awarded the Danisco International Dairy Science Award by the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). Congratulations to Dr. Parodi for this wonderful honor!
Dr Parodi, 74, is a world expert in dairy nutrition, particularly the role of dairy fat in human health. In 1977, he was the first person to discover the presence and determine the structure of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) – a major form of trans fatty acids in milk fat.
His work spans five decades uncovering the positive health benefits – and possibly the cancer-fighting properties – of dairy foods. Dr Parodi’s work in determining the structure and composition of milk fat was so important that in 1998 he was given the honor of naming a major trans fatty acid found in milk, which he called rumenic acid, after the cows’ stomach system, the rumen.
“For a scientist, exploring the unique properties and health benefits of dairy foods has been very rewarding,” he said.
His research has been supported by Australian dairy farmers through dairy research organizations – most recently Dairy Australia. Last year Dr Parodi was honored with the International Dairy Federation (IDF) award at its world summit in Dublin. He has been a recipient of dairy science’s most prestigious national awards – including the Award of Merit from the Australian Society of Australia and the Loftus Hill Dairy Science Award twice.
The annual international research and development award was established in 1980 and is judged by panel drawn from the ADSA. It recognizes outstanding accomplishments in chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, technology, and engineering pertaining to the dairy foods industries.
Posted: July 11, 2008 at 5:50 pm
By News Editor
New research from the Netherlands suggests that delayed introduction of cow’s milk in infants may increase, rather than decrease, the risk that a child will develop allergies in the first 2 years of life.
They note that one of the most widely recommended allergy prevention strategies is delaying the introduction of milk and solid foods into the infant’s diet. However, there is little scientific evidence to support this advice.
To investigate, Dr. Bianca E. P. Snijders, at Maastricht University, and her colleagues analyzed data from 2558 infants. Mothers provided information late in pregnancy and at 3, 7, 12, and 24 months after delivery regarding foods they ate and any allergy symptoms they experienced. The infants were tested for allergy symptoms at 2 years of age.
Tests showed that delaying the introduction of cow’s milk products beyond 9 months significantly increased the risk of eczema, a chronic skin condition characterized by dry patches of very itchy skin.
Delayed introduction of other food products for more than 7 months also markedly increased the risk of eczema as well as the risk of atopic dermatitis and recurrent wheeze. Excluding infants with early symptoms of eczema and recurrent wheeze “did not essentially change our results,” Snijders’ team notes in the journal Pediatrics.
“Although breastfeeding remains definitely favorable for the infant’s health,” they add, the value of withholding other foods to prevent allergies “is questionable.” However, they conclude, based on current knowledge, that “it may be too early to change the current guidelines on the introduction of cow milk.”
SOURCE: Pediatrics, July 2008.
Posted: June 28, 2008 at 9:04 am
By News Editor
A new study published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that a single glass of lowfat or fat free milk could help protect your heart. Drink up!
Researchers found that adults who had at least one serving of low fat milk or milk products each day had 37 percent lower odds of poor kidney function linked to heart disease compared to those who drank little or no low fat milk.
To determine heart disease risk, researchers from several universities in the United States and Norway measured the kidney function of more than 5,000 older adults ages 45 to 84. They tracked eating patterns and tested albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) — a measure that when too low, can indicate poor kidney function and an extremely high risk for cardiovascular disease.
Researchers found that people who reported consuming more low fat milk and milk products had lower ACR, or healthier kidney function. In fact, low fat milk and milk products was the only food group evaluated that on its own, was significantly linked to a reduced risk for kidney dysfunction.
The study authors cited other research suggesting milk protein, vitamin D, magnesium and calcium may contribute to milk’s potential heart health benefits. An overall healthy diet, including low fat milk and milk products, whole grains, fruits and vegetables was also associated with a benefit — 20 percent lower ACR or healthier kidney function.
Posted: June 24, 2008 at 11:06 am
By News Editor
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, is conducting a unique and interesting program, the Precision Feed Management Program. Helping N.Y. dairy farms implement cow feeding methods that will keep the state’s watersheds free of pollution and improve the quality of the farm’s milk is the goal of the program.
In Delaware County, New York the program is led by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County along with a multi-agency team that includes the Corps’ New York District, Delaware County, the New York City Watershed Agricultural Council and the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The program is showing dairy farms ways they can reduce the amount of phosphorous and nitrogen in their cow’s feed. Phosphorous and nitrogen can runoff into the water sources from cow excrement in the farm’s soil. So far the program has reduced phosphorous and nitrogen levels in the watersheds on
participating farms by over fifty percent.
To reduce phosphorous and nitrogen in the cow feed, the program is encouraging dairy farms to create better feed mixes for their dairy cows. The program is showing dairy farmers how to create more balanced blends that contain less phosphorous. One way they are doing this is by encouraging the farmers to purchase less commercial feed, which can be expensive, and grow more of their own home grown crop to feed their cows.
To grow their own feed, the program works with farms to adopt crop production methods that are beneficial to the farms in many ways, including no-till crop planting. This method eliminates the need to use gas guzzling machinery that requires expensive fuel. Doing less soil tillage also reduces soil erosion from the watershed. This is soil that may contain phosphorous and nitrogen.
“The real strength of the Precision Feed Management Program is that by working with farmers this closely we’re achieving quantified benefits for the environment and the farms - it’s a win-win situation.”
Posted: June 12, 2008 at 3:23 pm
By News Editor
A new scientific study being conducted in New Zealand could yield a natural, non-hormonal supplement that will significantly increase milk production. The study is being co-funded by the country’s governmental lab AgResearch Ltd.. and Ancare Scientific.
The study with Ancare Scientific Ltd. will take a year and cost more than NZ$500,000 ($377,000), Andy West, chief executive officer of state-owned AgResearch Ltd. told journalists at the opening today of the nation’s Fieldays agricultural fair. The product may lift milk production as much as 10 percent, Ancare Scientific Managing Director Colin Harvey said in a telephone interview from Auckland.
New Zealand is the world’s largest dairy exporter and accounts for about 40 percent of the global trade in milk powders, butter and cheese. The nation is also the largest producer of sheep meat and kiwifruit, and agriculture accounts for about 38 percent of the country’s $104 billion economy.
The product being trialed would be given to cows in the dry season to stimulate milk production, Ancare’s Harvey said. Being natural and non-hormonal should make it attractive to regulators and end-users, and commercial development may be three to five years away, he said. Ancare Scientific’s products are distributed by animal-treatments maker Merial Ltd.
“We’ve got to reduce the footprint whilst improving the productivity, and that is a big ask,” he said.
Posted: March 25, 2008 at 6:43 pm
By News Editor
The folks in Calcium, N.Y. are now slimmer and healthier thanks to lowfat milk, exercise and the researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver. During a 16-week study, the community-based project called “Calcium Weighs In” provided residents of Calcium one-on-one nutrition counseling and group classes.
The battle against obesity in this country could be tackled one community at a time, according to a newly published study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. Adults in Calcium, New York, who increased calcium intake by drinking more lowfat milk and other milk products and walked more frequently successfully lost weight after a 16-week overhaul.
In this innovative “Calcium Weighs In” community intervention, researchers overhauled the health habits of 199 men and women in a small, rural community of Calcium, New York. The free program provided one-on-one nutrition counseling and group classes, urging participants to set reasonable health goals, choose lowfat dairy foods including milk, cheese and yogurt and exceed a 10,000 step per day goal to increase physical activity.
At the end of the 16-week program, the 116 participants who completed the program lost an average of 13.2 pounds. Total dairy intake increased to nearly 3 servings per day, on average, meeting the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended goal.
Posted: February 4, 2008 at 8:08 pm
By News Editor
The American Jersey Cattle Association is proud to announce two seminars focused on dairy calf and applied genomics research at the Association’s winter meetings on March 8-9, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio. Reservations for the seminars can be made by contacting the Association.
The first program, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, will be presented by Mike Van Amburgh, Ph.D., dairy cattle nutritionist and Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Curtis P. Van Tassell, Ph.D., research geneticist at the Bovine Functional Genomics Laboratory at the Animal and Natural Resources Institute of the Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Md., will present the second seminar at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
Dr. Van Amburgh’s seminar is entitled: “Calculate What’s Needed, Feed to It” and Dr. Van Tassell’s seminar is entitled: “Genome-Enhanced Evaluations: The Future Has Arrived.”
Posted: January 2, 2008 at 8:18 pm
By News Editor
Dr. Jon Dickinson, an orthopedic surgeon from California, has been concerned about the calcium intake of Americans for several years. So, he decided to take action and has formulated a high-calcium beverage called Osteo. The drink includes 500 milligrams of soluble calcium in each 12-ounce bottle - about half of the minimum daily requirement.
The concept was to create a beverage loaded with calcium, vitamins and minerals in a tasty drink. Dickinson experimented in a makeshift lab in his Ross kitchen, using his four children as testers, until he came up with a blend of spring water, fruit juices and organic cane sugar. It retails for about $2.19 a bottle.
The product is geared for a mature market - one that is widely identified as being susceptible to osteoporosis and low bone mass.
But Dickinson says there is a broader market that includes children and teenagers, and he is planning to introduce a drink for a younger audience called Osteoblast in the spring.
Calcium comes naturally in milk, cheese and other dairy products as well as leafy green vegetables - foods that many people do not consume in adequate amounts.
By 2020, half of all Americans older than 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass if immediate action isn’t taken by individuals at risk, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Some 10 million Americans age 50 and older have osteoporosis and 34 million are at risk, according to a federal report. Each year, roughly 1.5 million people suffer a bone fracture related to osteoporosis.
“Osteoporosis is an epidemic among children and teenagers in the United States,” Dickinson said, adding that calcium is key to building healthy bones in young people. “It’s really important for children and teens to build the calcium stores.”
Only 13.5 percent of girls and 36.3 percent of boys from 12 to 19 years old in the United States get the recommended daily amount of calcium, according to the health department. Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said preventing bone disease begins in childhood.
“With low calcium intake levels during these important bone growth periods, today’s children and teens are certain to face serious public health problems in the future,” Alexander said.
Dickinson is using his own money to get Osteoblast up and running and attractive to outside investors. “Companies like this take a while to become profitable,” Dickinson said. “It would be nice to break even in 2008, but I probably won’t.” He says his business is a winner now, whether or not it’s profitable. “If we can educate people more about the need for calcium, I’ve accomplished something,” he said.
Posted: November 28, 2007 at 8:52 pm
By News Editor
Alan Sharp, a dairy heritage researcher in New Zealand, needs your help! He is looking for people who might have information on families in the United States who were among the first to use elevated platform milking systems. Do you know of someone? Email Alan at herringbone@hnpl.net to share your information.
I am trying to locate people with knowledge, of the where abouts, of the pioneering families who had enough faith to experiment with the introduction of elevated platform milking systems. From a 1957 HOARD”S DAIRYMAN article I have been able to target a family in New York State and a family in Indiana, but America is a very big place and I require a whole lot more contacts, to put a human face and photos to the 60 + patents that I have been studying. Being 40 + years since the HERRINGBONE explosion of the 1960’s time is running out.
With the assistance of the Massey University Archives in New Zealand, and Steven Larson, Managing Editor of Hoards Dairyman, my DAIRYING HERITAGE research is well on the way to finding the first dairy farming families, in America, to experiment with my Father’s HERRINGBONE system of milking cows. The Massey 1955 HERRINGBONE, being the shed that gained international recognition, for the revolutionary milking system.
Posted: November 9, 2007 at 7:28 pm
By News Editor
The brown root rot, a fungus that attacks alfalfa has been detected in farm fields in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Maine. The research was conducted by Cornell University scientists, with the first samplings conducted in 2005.
There are no effective treatments or controls for brown root rot, said Gary Bergstrom, a professor of plant pathology at Cornell. Last year, the Farm Bureau persuaded state lawmakers to spend $300,000 for research on the fungus, which can also infect vegetables and Christmas trees, he said.
Neither the Farm Bureau nor the state Agriculture and Markets Department have kept track of the number of infected acres in New York.
Brown root rot started out as a problem in Alaska and in the prairie provinces of western Canada — Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Yukon Territory. In eastern Canada, it has been reported only in Nova Scotia. The disease was first observed in the contiguous United States in 1996 in Wyoming and then in Idaho, Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The fungus first appeared in New York in 2004 in Clinton County, Bergstrom said.
The disease’s lesions first appear as reddish-brown to dark brown areas of external discoloration, eventually progressing into the roots, said Michael Wunsch, a Cornell graduate student in plant pathology and the report’s lead author. The fungus prefers cooler soils, between 30 and 60 degrees. Infection and decay occur primarily in the late fall through early spring. Infected plants grow normally in the spring but die in mid-May to mid-June.
Bergstrom said the widespread detection of brown root rot in the testing indicates most fields already have the pathogen. He said the best thing farmers can do at this point is to buy stronger, disease-resistant alfalfa in the future.
Posted: November 8, 2007 at 6:27 pm
By News Editor
A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently found that vitamin D, a key nutrient in milk, could have benefits linked to reduced inflammation and aging.
There is a new reason for the 76 million baby boomers in the United States to grab a glass of milk. Vitamin D, a key nutrient in milk, could have aging benefits linked to reduced inflammation, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In a genetic study of more than 2,100 female twin pairs ages 19-79, British and American researchers found that higher vitamin D levels were linked to improved genetic measures of lifelong aging and chronic stress. Using a genetic marker called leukocyte telomere length (LTL), they found those with the highest vitamin D levels had longer LTL, indicating lower levels of inflammation and body stress. The telomere difference between those with the highest and lowest vitamin D levels was equivalent to 5 years of aging.
Previous research has found that shortened LTL is linked to risk for heart disease and could be an indication of chronic inflammation – a key determinant in the biology of aging. While there are several lifestyle factors that affect telomere length (obesity, smoking and lack of physical activity), the researchers noted that boosting vitamin D levels is a simple change to affect this important marker. Studies continue to link vitamin D to an array of health benefits, securing vitamin D’s “super nutrient” status and providing even more reasons to get adequate amounts of this essential vitamin. Recent research suggests that beyond its well-established role in bone health, vitamin D also may help reduce the risk of certain cancers and autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Milk is excellent source of vitamin D and one of the few food sources of the nutrient. The recommended three servings of lowfat or fat-free milk provide 75% of the Daily Value or 300 IU of vitamin D.
Posted: October 18, 2007 at 7:12 pm
By News Editor
A recent report published by the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Studies reports that both large and small dairy farmers are equally happy in their lifestyles. For those of you who farm - do you agree?
What type of dairy farmer would you expect to be more satisfied with life? One who owns a large confinement farm, milks hundreds of cows, raises hundreds of acres of row crops, hires many employees and invests heavily in field equipment, feed storage and waste management? Or one who milks fewer than 100 cows and feeds them in large part on carefully managed pasture, moving them as often as twice a day, relying mostly on family labor and investing considerably less in equipment and facilities?
It turns out that both answers are right. Farmers who follow either of these divergent paths in modern dairy farming are equally satisfied with the quality of their lives. And they are more satisfied than those who operate smaller confinement farms or less intensive grazing operations, according to a survey of 1,300 Wisconsin dairy farmers by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.
Farmers who use different farming systems do differ somewhat in how they evaluate their own satisfaction, but not in the ways some might expect, according to the survey.
Managed graziers place more importance on hard-to-measure dimensions of life, such as opportunities for new challenges and creativity. Large confinement operators also valued such intangibles, but they gave similar weight to measurable achievements such as income, yields and property.
“For both groups, satisfaction is about more than material things. It’s not just about money. That may surprise some people (who) assume that (operators of large farms) are just motivated by material kinds of things. That did not show up in our survey.”
The researchers learned this by providing a list of various activities and experiences — such as earning money, being creative, having outside interests, providing jobs and being a steward of the land — and asking respondents to numerically rate how important they found each to be.
Posted: October 15, 2007 at 4:54 pm
By News Editor
Researchers may have come up with a new, inexpensive tool for increasing milk production without growth hormones, according to a study published Monday. They have discovered that suppressing the serotonin in mammary glands can boost milk output by 15 percent.
Lead researcher Nelson Horseman of the University of Cincinnati’s medical school and his team found that serotonin is the chemical responsible for sending the signal to slow milk production. In an experiment using human cells, they found that serotonin builds up as a human mammary gland fills with milk, inhibiting further milk synthesis and secretion.
They then tried to see if they could take this discovery and use it to improve dairy production and have patented a drug which appears to reduce serotonin in the mammary glands without altering brain chemistry. They will soon be starting trials with dairy cows.
“We would have to know whether or not it gets into milk and if it does whether it would get through the pasteurization process,” he said in a telephone interview. Horseman’s drug produces the same increase in yield as growth hormones but is easier and cheaper to synthesize and can be given orally rather than through injections.
“Our ultimate goal would be to increase milk yield in a way that’s effective without side effects,” he said. Results of the human study were published in Monday’s early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Posted: October 10, 2007 at 7:20 pm
By News Editor
Researchers at Cornell University have found that a diet that includes some dairy and meat is more efficient in terms of the amount of land used to produce it than a strict vegetarian diet.
Even though a moderate-fat plant-based diet with a little meat and dairy uses more land than the all-vegetarian diet it feeds more people because it uses more pasture land, which is widely available.
This deduction stems from the findings of their new study, which concludes that if everyone in New York state followed a low-fat vegetarian diet, the state could directly support almost 50 percent more people, or about 32 percent of its population, agriculturally. With today’s high-meat, high-dairy diet, the state is able to support directly only 22 percent of its population, say the researchers.
The study, published in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, is the first to examine the land requirements of complete diets. The researchers compared 42 diets with the same number of calories and a core of grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy products (using only foods that can be produced in New York state), but with varying amounts of meat (from none to 13.4 ounces daily) and fat (from 20 to 45 percent of calories) to determine each diet’s “agricultural land footprint.” They found a fivefold difference between the two extremes. (more…)
Posted: October 4, 2007 at 5:38 pm
By News Editor
There’s a new website out there that is attempting to deal with this country’s critical shortage of large animal veterinarians. The site includes resources for veterinary medicine colleges, state associations, allied partners and the agricultural industry.
Today, only about 17 percent of veterinarians work in food supply, which includes private and public practice veterinarians involved in the entire food chain from farm to fork.
Research forecasts a shortfall of four percent to five percent per year in the ranks of food supply veterinarians.
We are at a crossroads. Americans are demanding, now more than ever, healthy and wholesome food, and there aren’t enough veterinarians on the front lines helping to make sure their expectations are met.
Many entities are working to spread the news that food supply veterinary medicine is at a critical juncture and deserves national attention. They are sharing information, building coalitions, lobbying for legislation and trying to recruit more students into the food supply field.
These Web pages are part of that effort, and they complement the many ongoing efforts currently under way to increase the number of food supply veterinarians around the country, particularly in rural areas. The links below will guide you to valuable information about the food supply veterinary shortage, what’s being done to address it, and tools that you and your organization can use to meet one of society’s greatest needs - a safe and healthy food supply.
Posted: September 30, 2007 at 7:58 pm
By Chuck Zimmerman
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are testing a plant-produced, therapeutic protein, which thwarts bacteria that cause inflammatory udder disease in dairy cows. They turned a laboratory-produced plant virus into a delivery vehicle that carries a specific gene. The target gene expresses large quantities of a protein called CD14. When the virus reproduces itself inside plant cells, it generates CD14.
The researchers designed the virus to use the plant as a patent-pending “biofactory” that rapidly accumulates usable quantities of the therapeutic CD14 protein. A tagging system—which the researchers built into the technology—allows high levels of the CD14 protein to be harvested from mashed leaves. Potentially, fifty plants could provide enough purified protein to treat a herd of 500 cows.
In the ARS photo, plant pathologist Rosemarie Hammond and molecular biologist Lev Nemchinov (right) point out to molecular biologist Dante Zarlenga the virus symptoms on a plant containing the CD14 gene.
Read more from ARS.
Posted: September 7, 2007 at 10:37 am
By News Editor
The mysterious death of American honeybees may have been solved. Scientists suspect that the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus may be to blame for the American Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Although the scientists behind the research cautioned that they haven’t yet cracked the case, their study provides enough curious coincidences to keep even the fictional detective (and beekeeper) Sherlock Holmes buzzing.
The economic effect of the bee disappearances goes far beyond the lost honey: In fact, the bee industry’s primary impact is felt through the crops that the insects pollinate — products that are valued at $14 billion to $20 billion annually. Since Colony Collapse Disorder first came to light last year, the malady has affected an estimated 23 percent of the nation’s beekeeping operations, with losses of up to 90 percent. Other countries are reporting mysterious bee losses as well.
The disorder is characterized by the rapid disappearance of a colony’s bees, even if there are adequate stores of food in the hive. The bees just seem to fly off into oblivion — hinting that the malady somehow affects the insects’ navigational sense or learning ability.
The Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, or IAPV — is a little-known bug that sets bees’ wings shivering and eventually causes paralysis. IAPV-afflicted bees are typically found dead outside their hives. IAPV was also detected in the Australian bees as well as two of the four Chinese royal jelly samples.
“I hope no one goes away with the idea that we’ve actually solved the problem,” Jeff Pettis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service told reporters. “We still have a great deal of research to do to resolve why bees are dying in the U.S. and elsewhere.”
Among the questions yet to be answered:
Is IAPV really a cause, or will it turn out that vulnerability to the virus is merely a consequence of the disease?
How and when did IAPV get into the United States?
Why did the Australian bees (and even a few American bees) seem healthy even though they were carriers of the virus?
What roles are played by other bugs that were found in the bee samples, such as the Kashmir bee virus and Nosema fungi?
If the cause or causes can be definitively identified, what can be done to stop the collapse?
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