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Ants Demonstrate Self-Sacrifice to Protect Colony From Disease, New Study Reveals

DAVIS, CA – A groundbreaking study from the University of California, Davis, has revealed that infected ant workers actively sacrifice themselves to prevent the spread of disease within their colony, while future queens exhibit a stronger immune response and prioritize self-preservation. The research, published this week, offers a rare glimpse into the complex social immunity strategies employed by these highly organized insects.

This discovery underscores the remarkable evolutionary adaptations within social insect colonies, where the health of the collective outweighs the survival of the individual. Understanding these mechanisms could have implications for fields ranging from epidemiology to robotics, offering insights into decentralized systems for disease control and collective decision-making. The findings highlight a sophisticated balance between individual immunity and colony-wide safety, demonstrating a level of altruistic behavior previously unconfirmed in ant pupae.

Researchers, led by Dr. Naomi Dawson, found that worker ant pupae, when infected, effectively “give up,” allowing the disease to run its course and ultimately leading to their demise – but crucially, limiting further transmission. “Worker pupae surrender as the infection will kill them and spread,” Dawson explained. “While queen pupae survive because they have a good chance of healing on their own without harming the colony.”

The key difference, scientists beleive, lies in the immune system strength. Queen pupae possess a considerably more robust immune response than their worker counterparts,enabling them to fight off infection and recover. “Queen pupae have a much better immune system than worker pupae, so they are able to fight off the infection. That’s why we suspect they don’t signal,” Dawson stated. This disparity in immune capability dictates the differing strategies for survival and colony protection.

PARIS, FRANCE – A new analysis suggests Leonardo da Vinci‘s iconic “Vitruvian Man” drawing isn’t just a work of art, but a presentation of a basic geometric principle governing human anatomy – the Bonwill Triangle – previously used in dental studies.The research, published in the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, potentially solves a 500-year-old mystery surrounding the proportions described by the Roman architect Vitruvius.

Vitruvius, in his treatise De Architectura written around 27 BC, posited that the human body is perfectly proportioned and can be inscribed within a circle and a square.However, he didn’t detail the specific geometric method to achieve this. For centuries, scholars have sought to understand how da Vinci visually represented this concept in his famous drawing, created around 1490.

Dr. Swinee (full name not provided in source), the researcher behind the new analysis, argues that da Vinci’s inclusion of a “side triangle” between the legs of the figure in the Vitruvian man is a key clue. The study connects this triangle to the Bonwill triangle, a geometric relationship identified by American dentist Orville Bonwill (1856-1926) in the late 19th century. Bonwill used this triangle to determine the ideal dimensions for dental prosthetics, based on the natural proportions of the human jaw.

The Bonwill Triangle is formed by connecting the apex of the nose to the corners of the mouth. The research suggests da Vinci intuitively understood and visually represented this same geometric principle in the overall proportions of the human body, linking it to optimal anatomical function.

Da Vinci’s work extended far beyond the Vitruvian Man. He afterward created “The Last Supper” (circa 1495-1498) in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, and the “Mona Lisa” (begun circa 1503) which now resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris, attracting over 6 million visitors annually. Da Vinci’s diverse talents encompassed sculpture, architecture, music, mathematics, engineering, invention, anatomy, geology, cartography, and botany.

Vitruvian Man: Dentist Decodes Da Vinci’s Hidden Anatomy Secrets

Latest science news

Study: Sick Ants Sacrifice Themselves, Rather than Infect Others in the Colony

Ants Demonstrate Self-Sacrifice to Protect Colony From Disease, New Study Reveals

Vitruvian Man: Dentist Decodes Da Vinci’s Hidden Anatomy Secrets