Silver saving honey bees

Silver is an important element in the quest to save dying honey bee colonies, according to the latest edition of the Silver Institute's Silver News.

There has been a worldwide collapse of bee hives in recent years. In the U.S. alone, beekeepers lost hundreds of thousands of bee colonies in every quarter of 2023.

An antibiotic bacteria called American Foulbrood (AFB) is one of the primary threats to bee health. Researchers in Egypt and Saudi Arabia have discovered that a combination of bee venom and silver nanoparticles may be effective in fighting this bacteria.

When administered to hives through a sugary syrup, the silver/venom concoction prolonged bee lifespans from 27 to 40 days.

In their tests, scientists found no detrimental effects from the application of bee venom and silver nanoparticles to hives.

“Bee venom and silver nanoparticles show promise as alternative treatments for AFB, without detrimental effects on honeybee life span. Future research could explore the application of BV/Ag NPs in beekeeping practices for combating honeybee diseases and promoting their overall well-being.”

This was just one of several interesting stories reported in the latest edition of Silver News Here are some of the other highlights.

• Clothing embedded with silver nanoparticles can reflect body heat, keeping the wearer warmer. Now, University of Chicago researchers say silver-embedded clothing could help keep you cool. They have developed a textile whose top layer allows heat to escape while a middle layer of silver nanowires blocks heat from the environment. At the same time, an inner woolen layer moves heat from the skin to the middle layer. This configuration keeps the wearer cooler than everyday clothing.
   
• Surprise! Olympic gold medals are mostly silver. Many people are surprised to learn that the gold and silver medals are both composed of about the same amount of silver. The only difference is that the first-place medals are gold-plated.
   
• Smarter Surfaces has developed a silver paint for projection surfaces that facilitates the display of 3D images. Company officials claim that their product allows the metal’s properties to enhance a viewer’s experience of projected images, especially in 3D.
   
• Engineers have been working on processes to convert greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into environmentally-friendly fuels. Researchers at Japan’s Doshisha University have produced hydrocarbon fuel from carbon dioxide in the air using a silver electrode immersed in a liquid made up of water and ammonium tetrafluoroborate.
   
• Cameroon has issued a 2024, one-ounce, .999 silver coin in the shape of magician Harry Houdini’s famous water torture cell escape.