WEBVTT - Could a Vaccine Help Save Honey Bees?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff Works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vog obam here. You might have heard about how

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<v Speaker 1>honey bees are doing poorly these days. It's different from

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<v Speaker 1>the situation many of the world's vulnerable creatures find themselves

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<v Speaker 1>in a small, obscure Amazonian tree frog, or even a

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<v Speaker 1>gorgeous polar bear. We want these creatures to thrive and

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<v Speaker 1>live their lives, but are we willing to change our

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<v Speaker 1>lifestyles to make it happen. Would like to think so,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe not. The plummeting honey bee colony situation is

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<v Speaker 1>a bit different, though, because if honey bees aren't flourishing,

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<v Speaker 1>neither are people, and eventually people won't eat as a result.

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<v Speaker 1>As honey bees go around collecting the nectar they want

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<v Speaker 1>from plants, in the process, they disperse pollen from one

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<v Speaker 1>plant to another, making it possible for those plants to

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<v Speaker 1>bear fruit. Honey Bees aren't native to most of the

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<v Speaker 1>places they live. Over the course of human history, we've

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<v Speaker 1>carried insects from their native range in southern Europe, Africa,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Middle East, two ecosystems all over the planet.

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<v Speaker 1>At this point, they are the most successful pollinators in

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<v Speaker 1>the world. And among the things they pollinate are a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of our crops. The United States Department of Agriculture

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<v Speaker 1>estimates that they pollinate about fifteen billion dollars worth of apples, peaches,

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<v Speaker 1>and almonds every year in the United States alone. So

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<v Speaker 1>when US beekeepers lose of their colonies, as happened in

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<v Speaker 1>we twenty first century, humans not only take notice, we

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<v Speaker 1>start frantically trying to fix the problem. Part of the problem, though,

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<v Speaker 1>is that these losses, sometimes called colony collapse, don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a singular route. Beekeepers call it the four pas por nutrition, pesticides, pathogens,

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<v Speaker 1>and parasites, and so there's no silver bullet remedy. But

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<v Speaker 1>the most promising immediate solution seems to be figuring out

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<v Speaker 1>a way to prevent microbial disease, and that's where be

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<v Speaker 1>vaccinations come in. Invertebrates, like US, vaccines work through stimulating

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<v Speaker 1>the immune system to make antibodies against a particular disease.

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<v Speaker 1>The vaccine immunizes the individual. Since invertebrates like bees don't

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<v Speaker 1>make antibodies, scientists have long thought immunizing them would be impossible,

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<v Speaker 1>but study discovered that bees transfer immunity to their offspring

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<v Speaker 1>through protein called vitellogenin it's an ingredient in their egg yoke.

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<v Speaker 1>Vaccinating a bee wouldn't help that bee, But if you

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<v Speaker 1>vaccinated the queen of a hive, the only female that reproduces,

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<v Speaker 1>she could pass her immunity onto her children and grandchildren

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<v Speaker 1>through her eggs. The new vaccine will treat for American

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<v Speaker 1>foul brood or a f B, a highly infectious and

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<v Speaker 1>fatal disease that quickly devastates hives. The bacterium that causes

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<v Speaker 1>it infects larva, and there's no cure. Once it's found,

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<v Speaker 1>the hive must be destroyed. The bacteria are hardy too,

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<v Speaker 1>They can form protective spores around themselves and thus survive

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<v Speaker 1>dormant in a wide range of conditions for over fifty years,

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<v Speaker 1>and wake themselves back up when they find themselves transferred

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<v Speaker 1>via shared equipment, for example, to a new hive in

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<v Speaker 1>the eighteen hundreds. In early nineteen hundreds, American foul brew

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<v Speaker 1>decimated bee populations in the US. In some parts of

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<v Speaker 1>the country, beekeepers who didn't immediately destroy infected colonies could

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<v Speaker 1>be thrown in jail. The vaccine is in the testing

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<v Speaker 1>phases and most likely headed for bee boxes near you,

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<v Speaker 1>and don't worry. It doesn't require a tiny doctor's chair

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<v Speaker 1>and an itty bitty needle to deliver the vaccine. The

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<v Speaker 1>Queen Bee can drink the medicine in a little sugar

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<v Speaker 1>water and passed along to her offspring. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Jescelin Shields and produced by Tyler Klang. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other buzzworthy topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet, how stuff works dot com