Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees. The Independent reports via Engadgetmobile.

"A group of scientist are suggesting that mobile phones could be the cause of massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail, because the radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets are responsible for the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops.

"The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers.

The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly abandoned.

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a possible cause."

Related article in News.com and a more positive outlook from The Guardian

Excerpts from the The Guardian :

After all, bees and other animals are not made unwell by changing fields, they simply have their navigational abilities thrown out of line. That, in turn, can lead to death because they are insects.

While the implications are serious - even if caricatured by the doomsday scenarios put forward by the media - it doesn't seem in any way to make the case for illness caused by Wi-Fi sensitivity or any of the other claims. That is an argument between the telecommunications industry and those who believe it is dangerous, not between experts.

Update: - Disappearing bees may not be linked to cell phones - but a virus and bee scientists say they were misinterpreted

emily | 7:35 AM | Health Issues and SMS Alerts |
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