/Nexus - 1801 - New Times Magazine/pages/0027/image.png)
Page Content (OCR)
cannot survive if their specialised learning processes are Cry toxins through an effective immune response, and impaired by an immune response to Bt Cry toxins. that an immune response in insects causes cognitive As mentioned, bees only carry just enough honey fuel impairment in those insects. It has also been to fly to the target flower, collect the pollen and then fly specifically demonstrated that consumption of Bt Cry straight back to the beehive. They don't carry enough toxins produces cognitive impairment or disturbed honey fuel to allow them to survive getting lost and _ learning performances in bees. Bt Cry toxins are no’ spending time searching for the beehive. Sometimes a _ directly lethal to bees, just as alcohol is not directly person cannot quickly find their car in a very large car _ lethal to car drivers. Nevertheless, lots of car drivers park and can spend a minute or two trying to find their have died from sub-lethal doses of alcohol, and bees, car. However, bees must fly directly from the flower to __ like car drivers, die if they don't have perfect navigation. the beehive or they will run out of honey fuel, fall to the As mentioned previously, CCD was originally called ground and be carried away by hungry ants. Memory autumn collapse or fall dwindle disease. How could impairment is not lethal to humans, that relate to genetically modified but memory and_ learning crops? Beekeepers know that bees impairments are indeed lethal to are active on sunny days in spring bees. and summer, when all the flowers are If all the worker bees experienced If all the worker open. But in autumn and winter cognitive impairment due to an bees experienced there are very few flowers, so bees i to Bt Cry toxins, Ong 't get ll t that ti . then they would all get lost, tun out cognitive Bees get all their protein from the x honey fue , fal to the ground and impairment due pollen " flowers, so during aucun, e carried away by hungry ants, an : when there are no flowers, bees thus they would all suddenly to an immune experience a sudden drop in their disappear from the beehive. This is response to Bt Cry protein intake. exactly what is observed in colony Protein intake is very important for collapse disorder: "worker bees from toxins, then they bees, for both immune response and a beehive or European honey would all get lost, cognitive processes. "Insects bee colony abruptly disappear". have an efficient defense system As a detective would say, the GM run out of honey against infections. Their Beco ope hve fuel, fallto the MM acer immune proce to be the cause of the CCD. ground and be Bees use protein in forming their Of course, it might be that . immune response, but they also bees are somehow different to carried away by use protein to form eir other insects and do not experience any learning impairment or cognitive malfunction as a result of an immune response to Bt Cry memories. "(I]mmune- challenged bees perform poorly in memory tests", and it has been shown that "protein levels mediate this memory reduction. oxins. However, when bees The effect disappears if the bees were tested for learning impairment or cognitive can increase their protein intake".'* Pollen means malfunction after ingesting Bt Cry toxins, the results protein for the bees, and protein for bees is like oil for clearly showed that bees do indeed experience exactly an engine: it's needed to keep things working. he same cognitive malfunction that all insects do when Studies have also shown that an “immune response hey have an immune response. A study by Ramirez- reduces learning in protein-starved bumblebees" and Romero et al. showed that learning in bees is indeed hat the "immune-induced reduction in memory only impaired after exposure to Bt Cry toxins: "honey bees becomes apparent after the bees are deprived of exposed to 5000 ppb of CrylAb had disturbed learning pollen" because pollen is the only source of protein for performances”."! bees. During summer, when protein from pollen is Perfect navigation requires perfect cognitive function. plentiful, the bees can have an immune response, which That's why car drivers are tested for alcohol — uses protein from their reserves, and still have enough consumption: the alcohol impairs their cognitive protein available to form memories with, but in autumn unction. The Encyclopaedia Britannica states of CCD that he flowers close, the protein supply stops and then all it "appears to affect the adult bees’ ability to navigate", he remaining available protein is used up in the bees’ hus suggesting that worker bees fly out from the high immune response to GM Bt Cry toxins. ive to collect food but get lost and never return. It has This confirms that the situation which applies been clearly demonstrated above that insects resist Bt. generally to insects—learning impairment or cognitive hungry ants... bees experienced cognitive impairment due to an immune response to Bt Cry toxins, then they would all get lost, run out of honey any or NEXUS ¢ 27 If all the worker fuel, fall to the ground and be carried away by hungry ants... DECEMBER 2010 - JANUARY 20II www.nexusmagazine.com