Tropical carpenter ants (Camponotus leonardi) live high up in the rainforest canopy. When infected by a parasitic fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) the behaviour of the ants is dramatically changed. They become erratic ...
Plants & Animals
May 9, 2011
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The ants may go marching one by one, but they end up forming a superstructure of thousands -- and together they can form a raft that stretches the boundaries of the laws of physics, according to new research released today. ...
General Physics
Apr 25, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the US and UK have discovered four new species of parasitic fungi in the Brazilian rainforests. The fungi attack four distinct species of ants and release mind-altering chemicals that gradually ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University has unlocked the genetic code of the highly invasive Argentine ant, providing clues as to why ...
Biotechnology
Jan 31, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An ant colony is the last place you'd expect to find a maths whiz, but University of Sydney researchers have shown that the humble ant is capable of solving difficult mathematical problems.
Plants & Animals
Dec 10, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ants are not out of their weight class when defending trees from the appetite of nature's heavyweight, the African elephant, a new University of Florida study finds.
Plants & Animals
Sep 2, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Animals often compete aggressively with each other for food or other resources, and plants often compete with each other for light, water, or other resources. Now scientists in the U.S. have found an animal ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- The tree-dwelling tropical ants Cephalotes atratus build their nests in tall trees, but launch themselves into the air when threatened by predators. Scientists studying these wingless ants have discovered ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists studying ants have discovered that when they are seriously ill they voluntarily go away from the nest to die, which reduces the chances of them passing their infection to nest mates.
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new approach in the design of miniature, insectlike robots could lead to "microids" the size of ants that move their tiny legs and mandibles using solid-state "muscles."
Engineering
Jan 27, 2010
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