A News Sonnet A Day for April 2010: 6

I've set myself a goal for National Poetry Month this year: Compose a sonnet based on a science-themed news story each day.

Today's installment takes its cue from "Bees With an Impaired Insulin Partner Gene Prefer Proteins Over Carbs" at Science Daily.

Avoiding the Sugar Buzz

When honeybees alight from bloom to bloom,
A garden's like a supermarket aisle.
Like humans going shopping, they assume
Their choice of food will make their trip worthwhile.

Should they get carbs from nectar, or decline
And choose a pollen protein shake instead?
A gene determines how they choose to dine.
Reduce its role in fat cells, and they're led

To dump the carbs and grab a protein snack
To share inside their buzzing colonies.
It's pollen take-out that they're bringing back.
And though there are no diabetic bees,

Their Insulin Receptor Substrate gene
Instructs them how to keep their palates keen.

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