Safeguarding Honeybees: Increasing parasite treatment effectiveness using nanotechnology

人们越来越关注蜜蜂接触用于控制农业病虫害的杀虫剂。新出现的报告表明，这些化学物质对蜜蜂造成了严重伤害，因此导致了蜜蜂数量的急剧下降。一种广泛存在的蜜蜂病原体小虫病将被用来直接量化商业上使用的杀虫剂对寄生虫和蜜蜂生存能力的有效性。此外，最先进的纳米技术将用于开发更有效的良性治疗方法，并使蜜蜂的剂量/接触量最小。该项目的结果可能对未来商业蜜蜂的寄生虫管理产生重大影响。

There is increasing concern about the exposure of honeybees to pesticides used to control both agricultural pests and diseases. Emerging reports indicate that these chemicals substantially harm bees and therefore contribute to the dramatic declines reported. A widespread bee pathogen, Nosema, will be used to directly quantify the effectiveness of commercially used pesticides on both parasite and honeybee viability. Furthermore, state-of-the-art nanotechnology will be used to develop benign treatments with enhanced effectiveness and minimal dosage/exposure to the bees. Outcomes of this project can have major impact on future parasite management in commercial honeybees.