ListNook

sithelephant Mar 28, 2026 +490

'To fill this gap, researchers engineered the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to produce a precise mix of six essential sterols. They added this yeast to bee diets and tested it over three months in controlled glasshouse experiments. The enclosed setup ensured bees ate only the experimental feed. Colonies Grew Faster and Stayed Healthier The results were dramatic. Colonies receiving the enriched diet produced up to 15 times more larvae that reached the pupal stage compared with those on standard diets.

490

slabba428 Mar 28, 2026 +180

Everyone liked that

180

irwinlegends Mar 28, 2026 +1

Except for some beekeepers, who believe that introducing these foods outside of their naturally occurring schedule can be bad for a colony. When they are fed this way, they may become dependent upon it while disrupting their most important instinct, which is to forage for food on a schedule. It is a fine discovery, but it must be used carefully. Source: my wife, an apiarist

1

respectfulpanda Mar 28, 2026 +1

That’s a step 2 problem

1

iluvthiccgothbabes Mar 28, 2026 +1

i want a cute beekeeper wife 🥺

1

Cardwatcher2000 Mar 28, 2026 +1

Stings not to have one.

1

Pumperkin Mar 28, 2026 +1

Don't bee't yourself up.

1

PauL__McShARtneY Mar 28, 2026 +1

This likely isn't a problem if they can bio-engineer plants and flowers that produce the missing substances the bees are thriving on, so their natural behaviours aren't altered. After experimenting with any bio-engineered plants to make sure they are tolerated in the wild, it could work out to be a great improvement for the environment, which would overrule any potential risks. No one is suggesting feeding bees on the longterm like they were puppies is the best way forward.

1

irwinlegends Mar 28, 2026 +1

"No one is suggesting feeding bees on the longterm like they were puppies is the best way forward." Not in the article, but there's an entire industry of bees used as livestock that do EXACTLY that.

1

Lectrice79 Mar 28, 2026 +1

Wait, hang on, this would be bad to just bio-engineer plants to produce this thing that bees never needed before in all the time they co-existed. For all we know, this would be their version of meth.

1

Toidal Mar 28, 2026 +1

Could they artificially make them work for it? Seed the area bees collect from with the nutrient?

1

Grokent Mar 28, 2026 +1

Do not, my friends, become addicted to sterols. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence!

1

War_Is_A_Raclette Mar 28, 2026 +1

Sounds like your wife is the problem here buddy

1

corvus66a Mar 28, 2026 +1

Good hint . Sounds very reasonable .

1

No2Hypocrites Mar 28, 2026 +1

I'm sure it's not related to the fact that it cheapens the work they do so they make less money

1

Puzzled-Guess-2845 Mar 28, 2026 +1

No it wouldn't cheapen anyone's work. Bees need food to survive, triggering an enormous population boom artificially means death to the hive. if the local ecosystem could support them then the hive would have expanded without the artificial addition to their diet.

1

PCouture Mar 28, 2026 +1

AIs taking all the jobs these days

1

ID_SINK Mar 28, 2026 +1

They would make more money if their hives wouldn’t die

1

trichocereal117 Mar 28, 2026 +17

Except native bees :p

17

CreamyIvy Mar 28, 2026 +6

You’re right! The native bees loved it!

6

trichocereal117 Mar 28, 2026 +1

I don’t think native bees enjoy being outcompeted by honeybees

1

CreamyIvy Mar 28, 2026 +1

Honeybees are struggling number wise and contribute massively to pollinating. They’re not gonna sky rocket in numbers lol Edit: if you actually read the article. > Helping Wild Bees Too Co-author Professor Phil Stevenson (RBG Kew and Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich) added: "Honey bees are critically important pollinators for the production of crops such as almonds, apples, and cherries and so are present in some crop locations in very large numbers, which can put pressure on limited wildflowers. Our engineered supplement could therefore benefit wild bee species by reducing competition for limited pollen supplies."

1

Silly_Guidance_8871 Mar 28, 2026 +19

The bees are happy.

19

Oli4K Mar 28, 2026 +1

Don’t worry, bee happy

1

Barkinsons Mar 28, 2026 +1

Nice to see that they are using GMO yeast to produce it. There's a lot of efforts from idiots trying to ban "GMO" in everything ignoring the fact that the technology by itself is extremely useful. Can't wait for the excuses from that crowd why this is actually bad.

1

Wartz Mar 28, 2026 +235

Here's the actual paper instead of the LLM processed junk article. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09431-y

235

AwakenedSol Mar 28, 2026 +65

Notably, wild bees already produce the sterols from pollen. The improvement is compared to bees dieting on pollen substitutes.

65

CreamyIvy Mar 28, 2026 +1

Believe it’s more to support the native bees pollinators. Bees need all the help they can get with their declining numbers.

1

mayhemandqueso Mar 28, 2026 +3

So no need to put this yeast out in the yard?

3

The_Shryk Mar 28, 2026 +1

Gov going to send yeast filled airplanes to save the bees. So no need lol

1

Chrono_Convoy Mar 28, 2026 +101

I support our new bee overlords

101

No_Establishment7368 Mar 28, 2026 +12

I for one can be useful for rounding up others to toil in the giant hives

12

FissileAlarm Mar 28, 2026 +2

You submit to bees faster than tech entrepreneurs did to Donald Trump.

2

Mal-De-Terre Mar 28, 2026 +4

To be fair, bees are industrious.

4

Still-Cash1599 Mar 28, 2026 +2

They didn't really have a choice after trump taped the o*** with the dozen one year old baby girls from the east side.

2

chemistryplayer Mar 28, 2026 +49

Seems promising and scalable

49

SamuraiMike81 Mar 28, 2026 +30

Hell yeah, finally some good news!

30

KimJongFunk Mar 28, 2026 +4

I needed to hear something positive and this brightened my day :)

4

scyllallycs Mar 28, 2026 +1

Haha that's exectly how I felt! I wonder if it will get as much attention as bad news though...

1

terrible-takealap Mar 28, 2026 +24

We as a human being, and not a human shaped pile of bees in a trench coat, approve of this story.

24

Sumthin-Sumthin44692 Mar 28, 2026 +3

Science is amazing. More of this.

3

bajesus Mar 28, 2026 +16

It's not Brawndo is it?

16

kirby_j3 Mar 28, 2026 +17

It’s what bees crave

17

Grraaa Mar 28, 2026 +5

It's got electrolytes!

5

SeekerOfSerenity Mar 28, 2026 +1

It's vitamin B.

1

Yakassa Mar 28, 2026 +3

**Hive Thrive**: *Its got what Bee's Crave!*

3

Aggravating_Skin_307 Mar 28, 2026 +1

let me guess.. it was the bee's knees

1

Torgud_ Mar 28, 2026 +1

Everytime I hear about bees now I think about Bugonia. What a crazy movie.

1

Toddcraft Mar 28, 2026

Now try it on murder hornets

0

irwinlegends Mar 28, 2026 +1

They crave blood and tears, not some lab-made vegan candy

1

Zebrasdont Mar 28, 2026 +1

Cool. Keep them over in Europe, where they belong.

1

Scientists uncovered the nutrients bees were missing — Colonies surged 15-fold

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