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Cell Phones Aren't Killing Bees After All

radioweather writes "A couple of weeks ago, there was a nutty idea discussed in The Independent that claimed the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones was causing bees to become disoriented, preventing them from returning to the hive. The flimsy cell phone argument was used to explain Colony Collapse Disorder. Today the LA Times reports that researchers at UC San Francisco have uncovered what they believe to be the real culprit: a parasitic fungus. Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country."

11 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. Cellphone don't kill bees... by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1, Funny

    Cellphones don't kill bees, Video games kill bees.

    Honestly, until the other explanations started coming out I lost a LOT of faith in scientists and researchers. I mean, come on.

    1. Re:Cellphone don't kill bees... by orangesquid · · Score: 2, Funny

      I don't see how anyone with a good understanding of the Scientific Process could possibly misunderstand this article, you know? It is clearly stating that we have proved that the reason people talk on cell phones so much is that their minds have been infected with a parasitic fungus, and we shouldn't be worried about accidentally swallowing bees from flopping our mouths open whilst we walk-and-talk.

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      --TheOrangeSquid Is it any wonder things seem so awry? We swim in a sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
  2. I blame the bees... by BenSchuarmer · · Score: 5, Funny

    they shouldn't use cell phones while flying.

  3. Let me be the first to say by davidwr · · Score: 3, Funny

    "I think there is a fungus among us."

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    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  4. Damn bees by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 2, Funny

    Stop making phone calls all the time, bees! I see people driving around in cars with those stupid things stuck to their faces all the time. It's a wonder they can concentrate enough to find their way back home. You, being insects, have small brains and could never carry on a simultaneous phone call conversation without losing track of what you're doing and losing the hive. I mean, it's no wonder cellphones are giving bees so much trouble. Turn off the phones, bees, fly back to your hives, puke up our honey, and fly out with new instructions. Stop being lazy and using cellphones.

    You know those phones are sold with that fungus on them, bees.

  5. More proof of global warming by lessthan0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course, it is global warming. Both directly and indirectly making the bad fungus thrive this far north of the equator. All problems are related to global warming. No need to study anything anymore.

  6. Global Swarming by rodney+dill · · Score: 2, Funny

    Does this mean Al Gore won't be able to plug Global Swarming as a problem?

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    Use your head, can't you, use your head,
    You're on earth, there's no cure for that
    - S. Beckett
  7. A simple solution - make them stronger by... by csoto · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...mating them with heartier wild bees from... AFRICA! Yeah! That'll do it!

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    There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
  8. Re:Everyone repeat after me: by Itninja · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh, I'm pretty sure it does. Everybody knows that umbrellas make it rain. It's just common sense. But I guess you elite Harvard liberals wouldn't know much about that. /end sarcasm

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    I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
  9. Actually, by EinZweiDrei · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...there's just a massive apiary chondroitin deficiency -- it's the bee's knees.

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    Perhaps life really is full of possibilities.
  10. Re:Why blame everything else? by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 2, Funny

    You're wrong on all accounts. Obviously the cell phones are causing the parasite invasion.

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    Stop Global Warming!
    Just say no to irreversible processes!