Get the latest tech news

Meet the Ants That Can Perform Surgery to Save Lives.


Research on Florida carpenter ants reveals they employ advanced medical techniques like amputation and wound cleaning based on injury type, significantly enhancing survival rates compared to untreated cases. A new study published in Current Biology reveals that humans are not the only ones who sa

Research on Florida carpenter ants reveals they employ advanced medical techniques like amputation and wound cleaning based on injury type, significantly enhancing survival rates compared to untreated cases. Micro-CT scans of the femur showed it is largely composed of muscle tissue, suggesting it plays a functional role in pumping blood, referred to as hemolymph, from the leg into the main body. “Thus, because they are unable to cut the leg sufficiently quickly to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria, ants try to limit the probability of lethal infection by spending more time cleaning the tibia wound,” remarks senior author and evolutionary biologist Laurent Keller of the University of Lausanne.

Get the Android app

Or read this on r/technology

Read more on:

Photo of lives

lives

Photo of surgery

surgery

Photo of Ants

Ants

Related news:

News photo

The Many Lives of Null Island

News photo

Wing-slapping: A defensive behavior by honey bees against ants

News photo

Soft Robot Can Amputate and Reattach Its Own Legs | Inspired by lizards and ants, this robot can change its shape at will