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BBC: Ants work collectively to explore their environment and look for food. But they have no central control directing their movements. To see how ants would function in microgravity, researchers sent eight colonies of 80 common pavement ants to the International Space Station. The ants were confined to small transparent plastic boxes in which a barrier could be removed to allow the ants to spread out and explore a larger area. The microgravity conditions appeared to interfere with the ants’ ability to cling to surfaces, which resulted in their exploring the area less thoroughly and using less direct paths. However, they still managed to show a remarkable ability to not only walk on surfaces but also regain their footing after being sent tumbling through the air, according to the researchers, whose paper appears in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. The group’s findings could have many applications, particularly in robotic search and rescue operations.
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Ants in space adapt to get around Free
31 March 2015