Science Bar: “Pesticides: Bees Are Losing Their Minds—But Are We Doing Just Fine?”

Thursday, January 25, 2018, from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Brasserie le Dôme – Montpellier
Free admission (subject to availability)

It is now well established that the widespread use of pesticides has a serious impact on the environment. And as scientific research progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to dispute the harmful effects of pesticides on biodiversity, given their widespread use in both agricultural and urban areas.

Bees are losing their minds

In particular, several scientific studies have shown that pesticides commonly used in agriculture damage bees’ nervous systems, disorient them, and impair their ability to learn and remember. Ultimately, the use of pesticides leads to a decline in pollinator populations.

Men are not spared

Pesticides are invisible to the naked eye, but they are part of our daily lives. We now know that sources of exposure can be found in food, drinking water, indoor and outdoor air, soil, dust… Thus, even at low doses, humans are not spared from their toxicity, and children—exposedin uteroor at a very young age—may also suffer long-term consequences.
This first Science Bar of the season will be hosted by:

• Pierre Charnet, CNRS Research Director at the Max Mousseron Institute of Biomolecules (Synaptic Transmission Pharmacochemistry Team) – CNRS – University of Montpellier;
• Véronique Perrier, CNRS research fellow at the MMDN Laboratory in Montpellier (Molecular Mechanisms in Neurodegenerative Dementias) – CNRS – INSERM – University of Montpellier;
• Charles Sultan, professor of pediatric endocrinology at Montpellier University Hospital and member of the Environmental Health Group.

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