Solving the Mystery of Honeybee "Colony Collapse"?

Category(-ies): Snippets

Scientists from the US Army and entomologists from across the United States have identified a possible cause of honeybee colony collapse: two pathogens working in concert, one a fungus of the genus Nosema and the other a virus, seem to cause the problem.

Abstract from the Public Library of Science article:

"In 2010 Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), again devastated honey bee colonies in the USA, indicating that the problem is neither diminishing nor has it been resolved. Many CCD investigations, using sensitive genome-based methods, have found small RNA bee viruses and the microsporidia, Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae in healthy and collapsing colonies alike with no single pathogen firmly linked to honey bee losses."

New York Times article: Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery

Public Library of Science article: Iridovirus and Microsporidian Linked to Honey Bee Colony Decline

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:01 PM

Doomsday Seed Bank

Category(-ies): Plant Conservation , Plants, Food and Medicine , Snippets

One hundred countries have backed a “doomsday seed vault”, deep inside a frozen arctic mountain on the Norwegian island of Svalbard. The vault, guarded by polar bears and steel airlock doors, is planned to contain seeds of all the world's crops, as an insurance against global catastrophe.

Work Begins on Arctic Seed Vault – BBC

Fort Knox For Seeds via The Little Garden weblog.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 10:17 PM

Global Dimming

Category(-ies): Climate Change , Snippets

“Each year less light reaches the surface of the Earth. No one is sure what's causing global dimming – or what it means for the future.”

Goodbye Sunshine from The Guardian.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:31 AM

The Sixty-Four Dollar Tomato

Category(-ies): Plants, Food and Medicine , Snippets

$64 Tomato: A Quest for the Perfect Garden from NPR

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 9:28 PM

Fuel your car with corn (or not)

Category(-ies): Snippets

Producing ethanol and biodiesel from corn and other crops is not worth the energy

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:16 AM

Heronswood Closes

Category(-ies): Snippets

World-famous Heronswood Nursery closes (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Paradise lost: Heronswood uprooted (Seattle Times)

List of Heronswood-Sourced Plants in the UBC Botanical Garden Collections

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:50 AM