https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/science/honeybee-vaccine.html
"A biotech company in Georgia has received conditional approval from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture for the first vaccine for honeybees, a move
scientists say could help pave the way for controlling a range of viruses and
pests that have decimated the global population. It is the first vaccine
approved for any insect in the United States.
The company, Dalan Animal Health, which is based in Athens, Ga., developed a
prophylactic vaccine that protects honeybees from American foulbrood, an
aggressive bacterium that can spread quickly from hive to hive. Previous
treatments included burning infected colonies and all of the associated
equipment, or using antibiotics. Diamond Animal Health, a manufacturer that is
collaborating with Dalan, holds the conditional license.
Dalail Freitak, an associate professor in honeybee research at the
Karl-Franzens University of Graz in Austria and chief science officer for
Dalan, said the vaccine could help change the way scientists approach animal
health.
“There are millions of beehives all over the world, and they don’t have a good
health care system compared to other animals,” she said. “Now we have the tools
to improve their resistance against diseases.”
Before you start imagining a tiny syringe being inserted into a bee, the
vaccine — which contains dead versions of Paenibacillus larvae, the bacterium
that causes American foulbrood — comes in the form of food. The vaccine is
incorporated into royal jelly, a sugar feed given to queen bees. Once they
ingest it, the vaccine is then deposited in their ovaries, giving developing
larvae immunity as they hatch.
Scientists long assumed that insects could not acquire immunity because they
lacked antibodies, the proteins that help many animals’ immune systems
recognize and fight bacteria and viruses. Once scientists understood that
insects could indeed acquire immunity and pass it to their offspring, Dr.
Freitak set about answering the question of how they did so. In 2015, she and
two other researchers identified the specific protein that prompts an immune
response in the offspring and realized they could cultivate immunity in a bee
population with a single queen."
Via
The Fixer January 11, 2023:
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/ozone-layer-healed-40-years/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
