> problem is exactly how are you planning to control virus. Some magic potion ? I am a realist. Varroa control is real. Virus control is *in my opinion* unrealistic researcher BS!

Going back to the comparison with ticks: we have two problems, ticks and lyme disease. Without Lyme disease, I still wouldn't want ticks on me, or my dog. Believe me, he gets at least a hundred in the fall and almost as many in the spring. In summer we never see them. So, I would be keen on seeing a vaccination for Lyme disease. I would still want to control ticks, too. If you knock down 90% of the ticks, you might still get Lyme disease but if you have a vaccine for it, you could live with 10% as many ticks. 

Following this, if you could control bee virus and/or mite related disease (AKA PMS) and/or colony collapse, then you could live with 10% of the potential mite infestation. As far as magic potions go, this is what Jerry Hayes is working on. He left a good job in Florida to work on the RNAi project, so I am ready to say that he believes in it. And, if he believes in it, then so do I. I am not saying it will work, but I will say: it could. RNA interference has the potential to revolutionize medicine and pest control, the way vaccines did. 

As one who had polio as a child, I am here to tell you: vaccines changed the world for the better. There is no doubt in my mind that RNA interference and other techniques of epigenetic manipulation could make scourges like mites, ticks, viruses, AIDS all a thing of the past. Nature uses RNA interference to control these things and so can we. So it is not some magic potion we seek but a very real tool that we can employ in our effort to minimize loss due to parasites, opportunistic infections, and all the other things that make our lives more work and less fun.

Pete

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