Gizmorama - April 1, 2015

Good Morning,

Attention! Research has determined that an apple a day does not, in fact, keep the doctor away. Hopefully, it's banana or a pear, maybe a plum. What are we going to do to avoid the doctor now?

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Aphorism proven false, apple-eaters still go to the doctor --*
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (UPI) - Stop what you're doing. Everything is a lie. According to a new study, an apple a day does not, in fact, keep the doctor away. Who would have thought perfect health requires more than a single piece of fruit?

After researchers at the University of Michigan tallied the results of a diet and health survey, it appeared the old apple adage might have some truth to it. The 9 percent of the 8,728 U.S. adults who said they ate at least one apple per day were found to have visited their doctor less often in the last year.

But when scientists adjusted for other factors (age, race, body-mass index), apple-eaters looked more average -- no more or less likely than similar non-apple-eaters to frequent the office of their healthcare provider.

The study was organized by lead author Matthew White, an assistant professor in Michigan's nursing school. White said it was a scientific exercise, but one done mainly for fun.

The news isn't all bad for apple lovers. While the study -- published this week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine -- found no correlation between apples and doctor visits, the data did show that apple eaters were less likely to rely on prescription medications.

"Our findings suggest that the promotion of apple consumption may have limited benefits in reducing national health-care spending," the researchers concluded. "In the age of evidence-based assertions, however, there may be merit to saying, 'An apple a day keeps the pharmacist away.'"

As Davis admitted in his study, other research efforts have confirmed several health benefits of eating apples, including weight loss, lower cancer rates and improved heart health.

"While we appreciate the University of Michigan (a top apple-growing state, by the way) took the time to put the 'apple a day' adage to the test," Wendy Brannen, spokesperson for the U.S. Apple Association, told USA Today, "it's foolish to even imply you shouldn't enjoy a daily apple for your health when centuries of advice and stacks of current research would imply otherwise."


*-- Microchip backpacks help track bee behavior --*
LONDON (UPI) - Measuring just 4.8 millimeters by 8 millimeters, bee backpacks can't hold much of anything. But strapped to the back of bees, scientists hope they can help solve the mystery of bee decline.

The backpacks are not backpacks at all, but tiny microchips -- each designed to emit a unique signal to be picked up by local detector units. Data fielded by the detector units will be collected and organized by the scientists, enabling them to plot the behavior of the bees -- where they congregate, what flowers they prefer, how far they travel for food.

The project is being organized by ecologists at Kew Gardens -- the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, a suburb of London.

"Although tracking technologies exist they are limited by size, range and reliability and until now, tags with mid to long range detection were too large to be carried by honeybees and worker bumblebees and have been used on larger insects and birds," Kew scientist Sarah Barlow explained in a press release.

"These tags are a big step forward in radio technology and no-one has a decent medium to long range tag yet that is suitable for flying on small insects," Barlow added. "This new technology will open up possibilities for scientists to track bees in the landscape. This piece of the puzzle, of bee behavior, is absolutely vital if we are to understand better why our bees are struggling and how we can reverse their decline."

The tags will be placed exclusively on wild bumblebees, a species scientists say are declining as a result of shrinking wildflower populations. And while the research may not offer direct evidence of colony collapse disorder (the affliction of agricultural honeybees), the two insects share a number of threats -- including pesticides, insecticides and parasites.

The backpacks are glued to the backs of bees after the insects spend ten minutes in a chilled environment. The cold temperatures cause the bees to become momentarily docile. Each tracker weighs less than the weight of the bee, and scientists don't expect them to affect the insect's flying abilities. As of now, they've only been affixed to worker bees.

"If an animal ate one, I guess it would have a tracker in its stomach," inventor Mark O'Neill told the BBC. "But the attrition rate for field worker bees is very low. Most die of old age -- they are very competent, and good at getting out of the way."

For now, the bees are only tracked within the confines of the expansive Kew Gardens, but scientists hope the technology will soon allow them to track bees in the wild.

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