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Madeleine Finlay hears from Ted Schultz, curator of ants at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, about his recent study into the origins of fungi farming in ants. He tells Madeleine about the incredibly complex way that ants cultivate and protect their fungi gardens, and how the asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago could have kickstarted it all
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Leaf cutter ants carrying sections of leaves.
Photograph: [...]
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The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago caused the spread of fungi that allowed ants to survive in a light-free environment
This unlikely alliance between ants and fungi was the main inspiration for their finding-made possible by a critical development after an asteroid impact had wiped out the dinosaurs and a great deal of plant life. The impact threw dust and particles into the air that blocked sunlight, disturbed plant photosynthesis, and let fungi [...]
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Estados Unidos. Las hormigas ganan a los humanos como experimentadas ‘agricultoras’: según un estudio recogido este jueves en la revista Science llevan cultivando sus propios alimentos desde hace 66 millones de años, mucho antes de que el hombre evolucionara como especie.
Hace 66 millones de años, un asteroide impactó contra la Tierra provocando una extinción masiva global, pero creando las condiciones ideales para que prosperaran los hongos, [...]
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Redacción Ciencia, (EFE).- Las hormigas ganan a los humanos como experimentadas ‘agricultoras’: según un estudio recogido este jueves en la revista Science llevan cultivando sus propios alimentos desde hace 66 millones de años, mucho antes de que el hombre evolucionara como especie.
Hace 66 millones de años, un asteroide impactó contra la Tierra provocando una extinción masiva global, pero creando las condiciones ideales para que [...]
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(Felipe Toledo via SWNS) By Dean Murray via SWNS The world's second-smallest vertebrate has been discovered - a tiny toad living in a Brazilian rainforest.
Researchers say the flea toad measures just 6.95 millimeters in length and can fit on the tip of a finger.
The name of the new species, B. dacnis, pays tribute to Project Dacnis, a conservation, research and education NGO that maintains private areas of the Atlantic Rainforest, including the one where the animal was found, in [...]
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Noveen
- Publicado em 29 outubro 2024
Vivendo em sociedades altamente organizadas, as formigas criam supercolônias, cuidam de hortas e rebanhos, travam guerras. E possuem superpoderes. Sua interação com o meio ambiente é crucial – e está sob ameaça.As formigas estão em todos os continentes, exceto a Antártida. A ciência estima que atualmente haja 20 quatrilhões delas rastejando pela Terra, ou cerca de 2,5 milhões para cada humano. Colocadas numa [...]
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Long before humans planted crops like wheat or rice, ants were already farming. These tiny animals have been cultivating fungi for millions of years, developing a system that rivals our own agriculture in complexity. New research led by entomologist Ted Schultz from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History traces this practice back 66 million years, right after the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
In a study, published earlier this month in Science, Schultz and his [...]
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Ants are complex and fascinating creatures that have been around since the dinosaurs. But because of their tiny size, it's easy to overlook the enormous role they play in nature.
Ants are found all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica.
Scientists estimate that there are around 20 quadrillion of them currently scuttling around on Earth. That's 2.5 million ants for every human. If you were to put all these ants on a scale, they would weigh more than the world's [...]
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Las hormigas han desarrollado un complejo sistema de defensa microbiana en sus cuerpos
Jeffrey Sosa-Calvo, egresado del programa de Licenciatura en Ciencias Naturales y Educación Ambiental de la Universidad del Quindío y PhD en Entomología de la Universidad de Maryland, en Estados Unidos, ha logrado importantes hallazgos en su carrera investigativa dedicada a la relación simbiótica entre hormigas y hongos. Eso le ha hecho que su investigación [...]
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Ants have been farming fungi since shortly after an asteroid triggered a mass extinction 66 million years ago, according to a study that analyzed genetic data to explore this ancient agriculture, potentially providing lessons for sustainable practices.
Humans started farming thousands of years ago, but a new study co-authored by two LSU professors reveals that ants had us beaten by millions of years.
LSU AgCenter mycologist Vinson P. Doyle and LSU Department of Biological Sciences [...]
