Researchers at the two institutions set out to study differences in how genes are turned on and off in the brains of worker bees (females) and drone bees (males), to understand the striking differences in behaviour between the two sexes, and to learn about the genetics behind altruistic behaviours. Their study, published this month in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior, found massive differences in the brain profiles of male and female honey bees.

“It’s like a bee battle of the sexes. Male honey bees do not help out around the hive. They wait for female bees to feed them and then when they mature, they go out on mating flights,” says Amro Zayed (left), a biology professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering. “In a sense, they are the solitary members within highly social societies.”

The research, performed at the University of Illinois’ Bee Research Facility, looked at one-day-old and 21-day-old honey bees, to examine changes in gene expression – how genes are turned on and off – as bees mature. Worker bees spend the first few weeks of their life working inside the hive until they mature and start foraging for pollen and nectar. Male bees also spend a period of time inside the hive before going on mating flights, but do not take part in the division of labour.

The study found that both maturation and sex had huge effects on the brain profiles of honey bees. Workers and drones had expression differences in thousands of genes, many of which are known to affect behaviour, learning and memory. 

“But the biggest surprise was that most of the brain changes associated with maturation were shared by both drones and workers,” says Gene Robinson, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

It was previously thought that most of the changes coinciding with the worker’s maturation were directly associated with the altruistic behaviours of nursing and foraging, but this study suggests that this is not the case, because male bees experience similar changes in brain profiles as they mature but do not nurse or forage. The findings support the concept that altruistic behaviours in the honey bee evolved using existing genetic platforms found in insects.

Genes that are expressed as worker bees mature are most likely to help us better understand bees’ great ability to navigate, says Zayed, as well as to learn and remember the location of profitable flowers and communicate this information to their nest-mates.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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The book, Talent Identification and Development in Sport, (Routledge, 2011) offers an overview of current scientific research along with practical information for parents and coaches looking to spot talent and nurture it.

“We’re hoping this book helps inform a better system for spotting talent early on and making the most of it,” says Joseph Baker (left), professor in 91��ɫ’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health. “We’ve tried to answer questions that have thus far been elusive, such as, ‘how do elite athletes develop, and when is the most appropriate time for talent identification and development interventions?’,” he says.

The book features an interdisciplinary group of contributors from sport psychology, motor learning and skill acquisition, exercise physiology and coaching. Leading researchers from the field of athlete development explain their research and how it informs our understanding of the process of sport skill acquisition. Topics include genetics and secondary factors such as birth date, cultural context and population size, perceptual motor skill acquisition and sports development policy.

Baker, who contributed a chapter on genetics, explains that performance-related genes are by no means a magic bullet for identifying natural ability.

“There are now companies that scan for performance-related genes in newborn babies. Theoretically such criteria should be able to predict an individual’s potential to become an elite athlete – or anything for that matter. The problem is that scientists aren’t sure exactly what criteria they’re looking for quite yet,” he says.

“Alongside biological realities, we must look at factors like where and when an individual grew up, cultural norms, and the sport programs and polices in place at that time. These variables can all have an enormous impact,” says Baker.

The volume’s latter half offers case studies examining international success stories from the “trenches” of talent identification and development, from individual sports like track & field and gymnastics, to team sports including soccer and rugby.

“Athletic prowess is commonly thought of as a combination of nurture and nature, but the interplay of these factors is quite complex,” says Baker. “Our aim was to give a state-of-the-science overview that would be accessible for parents, coaches, athletes and anyone interested in talent development.”

The book is co-edited by Steve Cobley, senior lecturer in skill acquisition and sport psychology within the Carnegie Faculty at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, and Jörg Schorer, research associate at the Institute of Sport Science at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster, Germany. Baker is part of 91��ɫ’s Lifespan Health & Performance Laboratory and is a visiting research fellow at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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“A colony lives or dies by how well the workers perform, and there is a tremendous amount of variation,” says Zayed. “One colony may be a little bit aggressive but very good for producing honey. Another may be docile and hygienic, and a third may be hygienic but not produce a lot of honey. It’s all about slight differences in genetics between colonies.”

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Zayed, a biology professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, is leading a team of graduate students in experiments at his research apiary on nearby Toronto Region Conservation Authority land. They conduct behaviour experiments on the bees, examine differences in behaviour between 60 colonies, crossbreed the bees and take their offspring back to the lab for genetic analysis.

“When you look closely at the thousands of bees in one colony, you see that some worker bees are feeding the young larvae, some are going out foraging for nectar, some are cleaning the colony of disease and dead larvae, and some worker bees are watching you, guarding the colony,” says Zayed. “The fascinating part is all of these behaviours are manifested by the same basic DNA. What we are trying to understand is how differences in the DNA or in how genes are turned on and off give rise to these wonderful behaviours.”

Right: Amro Zayed

Observation of bee behaviour is not a new field. However, Zayed's lab is also integrating the study of population genetics (what makes subspecies different at a genetic level) with research on the genome, to study the evolution and genetic mechanisms underlying worker behaviour in honey bee colonies.

“This will help us to breed better bees in the future and will also advance our understanding of the genetics of behaviour in higher organisms, including our own,” he says.

Zayed and his team have recently started an experiment to study the genetic basis of a whole list of behaviours, from the age at which a worker starts foraging to the best immune system for worker honeybees. Zayed’s research is funded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation, and the Canadian Honey Council.

To follow the study, visit the .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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That’s contrary to what most Canadians believe, says Raphael in his new book , which looks at who stays healthy, who gets sick and why. It’s written with the goal of educating the informed Canadian, as well as university students.

Most people think luck, treatment options and lifestyle choices shape whether they are healthy or not. After all, that is the current mantra – eating better and exercising will lead to a healthier existence – a mantra that Canadians have wholeheartedly internalized. But that’s only part of the equation, and not the biggest part, says Raphael, a professor in 91��ɫ's School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health.

“Decades of research and hundreds of studies in Canada and elsewhere tell a different story: the primary factors that shape the health and well-being of Canadians – the factors that will give us longer, better lives – are to be found not in those much-discussed areas, but rather in the actual living conditions that Canadians experience on a daily basis,” says Raphael in About Canada: Health and Illness.

These factors include whether people are wealthy or poor, employed or not, working conditions, access to quality education, health and social services, and the basics of food and affordable housing. These social determinants “are crucial factors in the health and well-being of Canadians,” he says.

“Contrary to the assumption that we have personal control over these factors, in most cases these living conditions are – for better or worse – imposed upon us in the normal course of everyday life.”

Left: Dennis Raphael

That’s in large part because of the policies, regulations and laws enacted by governments at all levels, which influence employment income, family benefits and social assistance, as well as the quality and availability of affordable housing, health and social services, and recreational opportunities. That includes “what happens when Canadians lose their jobs during economic downturns such as the one that Canada began experiencing in 2008,” says Raphael.

“Governments also determine whether our children have access to affordable and high-quality child care and better-quality schools, the working conditions that we experience, and whether as seniors we receive levels of public pensions that allow us to live in dignity.”

Raphael wants to see changes in public policy that will affect Canadians’ health in a positive way. Through About Canada: Health and Illness, he wants the average Canadian to understand the role social determinants play in shaping health and what can be done to improve the situation through better public policies.

Raphael is the editor of , co-editor of and author of . He served as an adviser to the California Newsreel documentary series and the Deveaux Babin Productions Canadian documentary .

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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