Videogame designs military strategies based on ants’ movements

November 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has shown that in some cases, the colonies of army ants can be cooperative instead of combative, by joining neighboring colonies after the death of their respective queen. Colonies of army ants, whose long columns and marauding habits are the stuff of natural-history legend, are usually antagonistic to each other, attacking soldiers from rival colonies in border disputes that keep the colonies separate.

October 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Experiments led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have demonstrated that normally friendly ants can turn against each other by exploiting the chemical cues they use to distinguish colony-mates from rivals. The new study sheds light on the factors influencing the social behavior of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, and provides hope for a new tactic in controlling the spread of this invasive species.

October 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Some 40,000 existing spider species are thought to be strict predators that feed on insects or other animals. Now, scientists have stumbled on what may be the world's first vegetarian spider that feeds on plants.

September 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Security experts are taking a cue from nature to protect computer networks from intruders, and have created a new defence mechanism that mimics one of the hardiest creatures in the world - the ant. Unlike traditional security devices, which are static, these "digital ants" wander through computer networks looking for threats, such as "computer worms" - self-replicating programs designed to steal information or facilitate unauthorized use of machines.

September 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has shown that chimpanzees in Congo use "specialised tool kits" to catch army ants. Published in the American Journal of Primatology, the study suggests that chimpanzees have developed a 'sustainable' way of harvesting food.

August 31st, 2009 LONDON - A five-strong group of scientists have developed a new technique that can monitor movements beneath the earth's surface to help understand how earthquakes behave. The scientists, led by Andrew Curtis, Professor of Mathematical Geoscience at Edinburgh University, used computers to simulate the motion of one earthquake at the location of another to discover more in-depth information about underground movements.

August 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Texas and Brazilian researchers have confirmed the complete asexuality of a widespread fungus-gardening ant-called Mycocepurus smithii- the only ant species in the world known to have dispensed with males entirely. Most social insects-the wasps, ants and bees-are relatively used to daily life without males with their colonies being run by swarms of sterile sisters lorded over by an egg-laying queen.

August 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Harvard University researchers found that a fungal parasite causes ants into dying in just the right spot-one that is ideal for the fungus to grow and reproduce. Led by David P.

August 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A fungal parasite coerces ants into dying in just the right spot -- one that is ideal for the fungus to grow and reproduce, a new study has found. The study, led by David P.

July 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - When it comes to decision-making in groups, ants turn out to be more rational than humans, according to a study conducted by researchers from Arizona State University and Princeton University. However, the study"s architects-Stephen Pratt and Susan Edwards-say that the findings do not mean that humans are "stupider" than ants, but this only implies that humans and animals simply often make irrational choices when faced with very challenging decisions.

July 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The successful reintroduction of a once extinct butterfly in Britain has led scientists to determine that intelligent countryside management could improve the survival chances of animal and plant species threatened by climate change. This is the conclusion drawn by scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) from a British study on saving the Large Blue butterfly (Maculinea arion).

May 13th, 2009 New weapon turns fire ants into headless zombiesFORT WORTH, Texas — Researchers in Texas are trying an unusual approach to combat fire ants — deploying parasitic flies that turn the pesky and economically costly insects into zombies whose heads fall off. The biting, territorial fire ants cost the Texas economy about $1 billion annually by damaging electrical equipment, according to a Texas A&M study.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A dead ant is usually identified by its nestmates and removed from the colony, thus limiting the risk of colony infection by pathogens from the corpse. But how the news of a resident's death is communicated among the nestmates has not been clearly known to date.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Ants promptly dispose off their dead to protect the colony from infection. But how do they know an ant is dead? The understanding among entomologists (who study insects) was that dead ants release chemicals created by decomposition (like fatty acids) signalling death to the living ants.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - When it comes to house-hunting, rock ants tend to choose the best home possible, according to a new study. In the study, led by Dr Elva Robinson in the University's School of Biological Sciences, researchers fitted rock ants with tiny radio-frequency identification tags, each measuring 1 / 2,000 (one two-thousandth) the size of a postage stamp.