A few months ago, I awoke to find a streak spanning the length of my kitchen wall that looked like it had been drawn there ...

Researchers at Princeton University have built a swarm of interconnected mini-robots that “bloom” like flowers in response to ...

Some baby ants don’t ask for help when they contract deadly infections — they ask to be killed. Terminally ill worker ant pupae actively emit a “find me and destroy me” chemical signal, prompting ...

Sick ant pupae of Lasius neglectus can sense when they’ll die from infection and signal for help, triggering their own destruction to protect the colony—a selfless act studied at IST Austria and the ...

Move over, Game of Thrones—ants can turn armies against their leaders and use subterfuge to take over entire kingdoms, too. This chilling discovery did not originate with a professional scientist, but ...

The behavior prevents fungal pathogens from spreading through the colony Researchers call it "altruistic disease signaling" that protects the ant superorganism In a rare example of biological altruism ...

"By warning the colony of their deadly infection, terminally ill ants help the colony remain healthy and produce daughter colonies, which indirectly pass on the signaler’s genes to the next generation ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Ants are some of nature’s most selfless animals. They practice ...

For some would-be ant queens, the easiest way to take over a colony is to dupe its worker ants into committing regicide. The scientist E.O. Wilson once wrote that ants are the most warlike of all ...

Ants are many things. They're hard workers and intensely social. They're quite strong for their size. And now they may also be a source of architectural inspiration too — for designing spaces that ...