Ants, like humans, deal with disease. To deal with the bacteria that cause some of these diseases, some ants produce their own antibiotics. A new comparative study identified some ant species that make use of powerful antimicrobial agents – but found that 40 percent of ant species tested didn’t appear to produce antibiotics. The study has applications regarding the search for new antibiotics that can be used in humans. (more…)
For Indian jumping ants (Harpegnathos saltator), becoming royalty is all about timing.
If a larva gives signs of maturing into a queen at the wrong time, it is physically harassed into remaining a humble worker. But the same cues at the right time give the larva access to the resources it needs to thrive and develop as a queen. Now scientists have identified the “princess pheromone” that tells a colony when an ant larva is aiming for coronation. (more…)
AUSTIN, Texas — A team of researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has developed a tiny, low-power device that mimics a fly’s hearing mechanism.
The new device could be used to build the next generation of hypersensitive hearing aids with intelligent microphones that adaptively focus only on those conversations or sounds that are of interest to the wearer. (more…)
