A single colony of bees can have 60,000 bees in it. Together, they can visit up to 50 million flowers each day to collect pollen and nectar. They’re not called ‘busy bees’ for nothing!
Spring has sprung, which means it’s hay fever season.
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If you get hay fever, minimising your exposure to grass pollen is likely to be useful. Fortunately, it’s becoming easier to keep track of the pollen count. But what do you do when it’s high?
Climate change has caused pollen seasons to start sooner and last longer.
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Pollination in South Africa’s ecosystems is extremely complex. However new advances such as pollen metabarcoding help us understand interactions between pollinators and pollen.
Hay fever sufferers should have access to an asthma puffer every spring, even if they’ve never had asthma symptoms.
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Urban bees deal with what’s known as “habitat patches,” discontinuous patches of green like gardens, parks and ravines. Green roofs could offer relief to bees dealing with habitat fragmentation.
Melbourne’s recent thunderstorm asthma event caught services by surprise. So, is it time for a national health protection agency to coordinate our public health response?
Genetic techniques can help make pollen useful for cracking criminal cases.
Karen L. Bell
Pollen is all around us, is extremely durable and can provide clues about where someone’s been. A new genetic technique will make it easier to use pollen evidence in criminal investigations.
Sunflowers contain less protein than aloe plants and bees need more of this.
Chamanti Laing
Allergies are reactions caused by the immune system as it responds to environmental substances that are usually harmless. But we don’t yet have a cure or the ability to prevent them from developing.
Respiratory Allergy Stream Co-chair, National Allergy Centre of Excellence; Professor and Head, Allergy Research Group, Queensland University of Technology
Senior Staff Specialist in Paediatric Allergy and Immunology at John Hunter Children's Hospital Newcastle NSW Conjoint Lecturer in Paediatrics, University of Newcastle
Professor&Chair of Paediatrics | HMRI, University of Newcastle, Australia | Senior Staff Specialist Paediatric Respiratory&Sleep Medicine | John Hunter Children's Hospital, Australia, University of Newcastle