Beekeepers in the U.S. lost more than 45% of their honeybee colonies in the one-year period starting in April 2020. The loss of bees from colony collapse disorder and other causes over the past decade is critical to food supply since bees pollinate native plants and tree fruit crops.

Researchers at Bucknell University in Lewisburg have taken a novel approach — they are studying the brains of bees for stress, which has been identified as a factor in colony collapse disorder.

Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, the researchers are comparing the brains of healthy bees to those that are diseased.

Monday’s Smart Talk focuses on the research with Jayne McDevitt, cell biology/biochemistry major and lead author of their latest study, chemistry professor David Rovnyak and biology professor and bee researcher Beth Capaldi.

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