Signal Trouble: Could Gagets Cause a 'Silent Spring'?

The cameras, video games and other functions of the cell phone have been making them more popular each year, and with the possibility of mini-projectors and other gadgets in the future, the sky seems to be the limit. But, as always, there may be a catch: By using your cell phone, you may be contributing to the end of the world as we know it.



A study in Germany recently concluded that the navigational systems of bees may be thrown off by mobile phones, causing a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Thousands of beehives mysteriously began to collapse last fall because the bees never returned to their hives; queen bees and eggs were abandoned and died, and the missing bees are assumed to have died. According to an article in the Independent (United Kingdom), the west coast of the United States is missing 60 percent of its usual bee population and the East Coast is missing 70 percent.



Since bees make the pollination of most crops possible, the collapse of these hives and disappearing bee population might threaten the world food supply. CCD has also been documented in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.



Researcher Jochen Kuhn at Landau University in carried out the study, in which mobile phones were placed near beehives. The bees failed to return to the hive, suggesting a possible connection, but the cause of the widespread collapses is still unknown.