Cloud over recent findings on CCD – possible conflict of interest in research?

First, I want to thank Dave – a reader here at suburbanbeekeeper.com – for pointing this out. He posted a comment on the original article recommending that we all read two additional sources regarding this recent story – that of the potential ‘one-two punch’ of fungal and viral sources of CCD.  I’ve read the sources he posted and want to highlight his information with this post.

I believe his point (and that of the article on cnn.com) is valid. There seems to be enough of a potential conflict of interest to cast doubt on the single source cause of CCD and, as I’ve written here in the past, removing pesticides as a potential contributing factor may be premature.   If a scientist is funded by Bayer, the lightning rod attracting copious attention with their pesticide products that have been linked with negatively impacting hive populations in the past, then may not the scientist be motivated to find a cause rooted in a non-pesticide source?

Here’s Dave’s post (thanks again Dave) and I urge you all to read both articles and make up your own minds.

Please also read these two articles in sequence:
“Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/science/07bees.html
“What a scientist didn’t tell the New York Times about his study on bee deaths”
http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/08/news/honey_bees_ny_times.fortune/index.htm
Dave

Regards,

Will