Bees – from evolution to artificial intelligence

Does a bee’s gut influence its sociability? Can a plant deter pests and attract pollinators at the same time? And with bee populations under threat, can artificial intelligence keep colonies safe? The EU estimates pollinators such as honeybees contribute at least EUR 22 billion each year to the European agricultural industry. They are so important that the United Nations has designated the 20th of May as World Bee Day, so this episode of CORDIScovery looks at bees! Hallel Schreier focuses on the intersection between software, artificial intelligence, hardware and biology. His company BeeWise has created the world’s first robotic beehive! He is joined by Stuart Campbell, who is based at the University of Sheffield where he leads a research laboratory in the area of chemical ecology and evolution of insect-plant interactions. And: Joanito Liberti who is an evolutionary molecular ecologist based at the University of Lausanne. Joanito is currently studying how the gut/brain axis manifests itself through the social behaviour of honeybees. For info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!v3hmHq