Re:Lithium chloride kills a honey bee parasite by a systemic...
by RcouF1uZ4gsC on Wednesday January 17, 2018 @02:29PM
(#16170943)
All of life and evolution is a never ending arms race. I don't see what the problem is in applying human intelligence to that arms race. An important part of being human involves using our intelligence to manipulate nature in a way that is beneficial to us. If lithium chloride helps us with the goal of healthier honey bees by decreasing parasites, we should do it. We should also be researching and thinking of what to do if/when resistance evolves in the parasite. But, just because resistance can evolve, doesn't mean we despair of using chemicals to fight parasites.
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Re:Lithium chloride kills a honey bee parasite by a systemic...
by Retric on Wednesday January 17, 2018 @02:36PM
(#16171011)
Saying we need to keep fighting does not mean we need to fight as stupidly as possible.
With care we can prevent antibiotic resistance becoming significant for decades, or we can get it to show up in the first week an antibiotic is introduced. While parasites are slower to develop resistance we still face similar issues with Lice and other pests and we really should consider both the short and long term impacts of any approach which is directly fighting evolution.