Scientists uncover the secret behind the ant’s super strong teeth

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says Aaron Devaraj, senior research fellow at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and author of the book A study was published on the formation of ant teeth Wednesday in Scientific Reports. Baby ants “can cut through human skin without breaking it – hard to do with our teeth.”

To explore the depths of nature’s mysteries and satisfy humanity’s need for pocket-sized electronics—so that we can easily check Twitter feeds, of course—study researchers first isolated a tiny piece of an ant’s tooth. ant two, or Sometimes more, the teeth on the curved outer mandible, or mandible. Next, the team turned to a technique called atomic probe tomography, which precisely paints a picture of where each atom is in the body.

“The plan is to use this technology to understand how zinc is distributed inside the teeth of these ants, and how that leads to the power you get,” said Devaraj.

Atomic probe tomography works by reverse analysis. Basically, you put an element into a chamber, then slowly vaporize it — atom by atom — and collect data on each material on a detector. With this information, you can reconstruct the object as a 3D model, except this time with recognizable atoms.

After following these steps using microscopic “needles” to bite the ants, the team found that the zinc atoms in the teeth – which are responsible for the stabbing pain of ant bites – are distributed in a very uniform way, not in clumps.

Whenever an ant bites something, its power spreads throughout its teeth due to the even dispersion of the zinc atoms. This explains why only about 10-20% zinc is actually needed for a strong dental material. Even better, say the researchers, the animals ended up using about 60% or less force than they would need if their teeth matched our relatively weak pearly white teeth, which have different types and distributions of elements.

“Organic and inorganic chemists can work together to synthesize very strong materials, inspired by this type of material,” said Devaraj.

Applying the concept of uniform distribution of atoms – zinc or other elements – to the tools that build human technology will provide our future miniature tools with a double benefit. This will be less expensive, as smaller quantities of more powerful and expensive components will be required. It will also be more efficient due to the fact that force will be required during use.

Next, Devaraj and his research colleagues are trying to continue to find ways to revolutionize how compact technical devices are made by analyzing other tiny and tiny species that roam around with powerful weapons.

“We have already started looking for scorpion stings, for example spider fangs, and many other types of miniature tools to understand what the insect arsenal looks like,” said Devaraj.

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