Environment

Intensified efforts, MSU research project to save bees underway

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By RUTH KRUG
Capital News Service
LANSING – Bees are declining in the northeastern United States and southern Canada, according to a recent study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently awarded Michigan State University a $6.9 million grant to develop sustainable pollination strategies for specialty crops. Bee pollination is necessary for the production of many crops, including apples, blueberries, grapes and leafy greens. “Bees play a key role in the productivity of agriculture through the pollination of fruits and vegetables,” according to the Honey Bee Research Centre at the University of Guelph in Ontario. “Without effective pollination we would face higher food costs and potential shortages.”
National Geographic magazine recently reported that beekeepers in the U.S. lost about 25 percent of their hives in 2013.

Health

Travelers head to Africa despite Ebola concerns

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By RUTH KRUG
Capital News Service
LANSING — For Michigan State University students and Lansing-area immigrants from West Africa planning to travel there, the Ebola virus raises a similar reaction: stay healthy and hopeful. With more than 3,400 deaths so far, the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak in West Africa a public health emergency of international concern. Hardest hit are Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, with other cases reported in Nigeria and Senegal. How might the virus impact students who plan to study or research in Africa or community residents who plan to travel there? John Metzler, the assistant director for outreach and programming at the MSU African Studies Center, said, “The likelihood of an American getting malaria is more likely than Ebola, but the university is advising students to stay healthy, and have an emergency prevention plan.”
Ben Chamberlain, the university’s international health and safety analyst, said no university study abroad programs have been cancelled yet.