Think cell phone-induced brain cancer is bad? According to a recent study, its not brain cells our phones have been killing, but honeybees.
According to researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, honeybees are confused by the electromagnetic
Think cell phone-induced brain cancer is bad? According to a recent study, its not brain cells our phones have been killing, but honeybees.
According to researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, honeybees are confused by the electromagnetic signals coming out of cell phones. The study found that the presence of cell phone signals increased bee activity, causing accidental swarming as the bees struggled to communicate above the noise.
The experimenters figured this out by placing cell phones next to beehives, the act of which resulted in a tenfold increase in the signal that informs worker bees to leave their hives. The increased activity also serves to indicate that a swarm is in danger, which posed further issues.
This research, while not entirely new, points to only one of many possible causes for the massive bee die offs that have occurred in recent years. Other theories have pointed to pathogens, pesticides and global warming, but fixing those issues pales in comparison to the Herculean efforts required to separate people from their cell phones. Sorry, honeybees, but I have to take this call.
[Via Fast Company]