"Sticky Gels Turn Insect-sized Drones into Artificial Pollinators"

Alyssa Lee

Mr. Ippolito

Biology 10H

28 February 2017

Cell Press. "Sticky Gels Turn Insect-sized Drones into Artificial Pollinators."ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 Feb. 2017. <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170209133506.htm>.

The article I read, “Sticky Gels Turn Insect-sized Drones into Artificial Pollinators” by Cell Press concerned the development of small, bee-sized drones that could be used to pollinate flowers rather than having to use bees. One may wonder why such an invention would be in development if there are already bees who can pollinate these flowers, and the answer to that is a fact that surprised me greatly- bees are close to being classified as an endangered animal species. The reason for this, as explained by the article, is that the stress put on bees by the beekeepers for commercial use is shortening the bees’ lifespans over a period of several years. As a result of an failed experiment to attempt to create a electrically conductive liquid, chemist Eijiro Miyako at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology had found this gel years after his experiment in a storage cabinet, and saw that it had still retained its viscous properties and remained virtually unchanged despite the time that passed. This discovery inspired Miyako to investigate the substance further to see if it could be used to alleviate the bee situation. First, Miyako slathered some of the substance onto an experimental group of ants. He also used a control group of ants without the gel, and sent both groups into a bed of tulips. The ants with the gel were found to attract a markedly larger amount of pollen than the control group, so Miyako determined that the gel had a higher attraction for the pollen. Next, Miyako conducted an experiment with houseflies- surprisingly, the gel had a camouflaging effect on the flies which could be used to “help artificial pollinators avoid predation”. After confirming the gel’s utility, Miyako worked to create a small, insect-sized drone that could accommodate their needs. However, this and the gel alone were not enough to attract the amounts of pollen necessary to aid the bees in their strenuous work; Miyako and his other co workers then began the search to find out what could be added to the drone to increase its adhesive property, and found the answer that they had been searching for in horse hair, which had a similar consistency to bee hair. They then flew out the drones over Japanese lilies, and saw that they had collected a significant amount of pollen, then delivering that pollen to another flower, successfully pollinating them. This could mean that bees could be relieved the stress of pollination and instead focus on creating honey, a unique ability that no other insects or animals can do.

Miyako’s work with the drones has a chance of hugely impacting nature, especially concerning the bees. Seeing as bees are becoming endangered to due to human negligence, this would certainly alleviate some of their burden, seeing as they must pollinate and create honey. This is extremely taxing for the bee population, and if we even have a slight chance of saving them, then it would be a welcome choice to attempt to do so, as they provide so much to mankind. The extinction of the bee race would also impact the flowers that need to be pollinated in the spring, as bees make up the vast majority of animals that have the ability to pollinate, posing a threat to the plants’ lives as well, perhaps even decreasing the population of the plants to the point where it begins to threaten mankind’s existence, as we require oxygen from those plants to breathe- the decrease or even the extinction of plants could cause an overflow of carbon dioxide and lack of sufficient levels of oxygen on Earth for mankind to survive. Although it may seem extremely far-fetched to claim that flowers will go completely extinct, the extinction of the bee population would certainly cause a direct significant decrease in the plant population. As bees are an essential component of our ecosystem and a species existing in our world, we have a responsibility to care for them at least in return for the things that they bring to us.

This article was very well-written. The most impressive aspect of the article was the way in which it explained the experiments conducted by Miyako and his team, especially when they explained the building of the drone and the tests with the gel. The explanations were somewhat lengthy, but the detail encapsulated within them provided a clear understanding to the reader so that we could understand the thought process of the scientists involved. Another aspect that was well-done was the wording used in the article; although some concepts were difficult to grasp, the colloquial terms utilized made understanding the experimental process far easier. For example, when the article explains what special properties the gel had to make it a candidate for this set of experiments, it is understandable despite the fact that some readers may not know the definitions of “ionic” or “viscous”. We are able to infer from the context what the article is trying to convey. There were, however, some problems with the article as well- to name one, the article did not specify what chemicals caused the gel to retain its viscous properties after long periods of time, and it had left me curious the entire time as I was reading the article. Another problem was the article’s explanation as to why pollination is detrimental to the bee race. Although we can deduce that the pollination is taxing for the bees, why is it affecting them now rather than in years before? The article did not answer either of these questions, and I believe that to fix these problems, the author could skip over less of the process and go into further detail, especially concerning the areas like those mentioned above that are essential to the basic understanding of the significance of the experiment.