Liquid Gold: The Wonder Of Honey

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2022

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

Honey bees know a lot about honey, and humans are starting to catch up. Scientists are now looking at how the chemicals in honey affect bee health. With the help of research scientist Bernarda Calla, Short Wave producer Berly Mccoy explains the chemical complexities of honey, how it helps keep honey bees resilient, and what role it may play in saving the bees. (encore)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:04.6	Emily, do you like honey?
0:07.6	Berlée, if by honey you mean the real reason I drink tea, then yeah, I do.
0:11.8	Yes.
0:12.8	Yes.
0:13.8	And you know, honey bees love honey.
0:15.8	Oh, yes they do.
0:16.8	It's in their name.
0:18.2	They make it, they store it.
0:19.9	They use it for a backup food supply when there's not a lot of nectar around.
0:24.5	And Emily, honey is so much more than a sweet treat for bees.
0:29.0	And so it's not just sugar because bees cannot survive just in sugars.
0:34.4	Wait, honey is made up of more than sugar?
0:37.1	Yes, a lot more Emily.
0:39.0	I talked to Bernarda Calla, a research scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana
0:43.5	Champaign.
0:44.5	She studies how plants and insects interact.
0:47.2	And Bernarda says honey is food and medicine for bees.
0:51.4	In these medicine, it's not just one component, but similar components for different types
0:57.3	of diseases or stresses that the bees might be exposed to during their lifetimes.
1:04.6	Wait, you're telling me that honey, this ambrosial substance that I love, is medicinal for the bees
1:11.0	too.
	...

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