TOKYO — Scientists in Japan have built a robot bee designed to help ease the burden of pollination duties amid a dwindling bee population. The robot bee is a tiny drone equipped with horsehair that mimics the fuzzy body of a real bee. It is coated with an ionic liquid gel, which was the result of a failed experiment into liquids that could be used as electrical conductors. “We were surprised that after 8 years, the ionic gel didn't degrade and was still so viscous. Conventional gels are m