Small wonder: Ants can solve maths problems

Washington: An ant colony is probably the last place one would expect to find a maths whiz, but a study has shown that they could solve complex, dynamic problems, and may even help computer experts develop better software.

An international team has found the ants are capable of solving difficult mathematical problems and also able to do what few computer algorithms can — adapt optimal solution to fit a problem, the Journal of Experimental Biology reported.

Using a novel technique, scientists tested whether Argentine ants could solve a dynamic optimisation problem by converting classic Towers of Hanoi maths puzzle into a maze. But since ants cannot move disks, they converted the puzzle into a maze where the shortest path corresponds to the solution with fewest moves in the toy puzzle.

The ants were given one hour to solve the maze by creating a high traffic path between their nest and the food source, after which time the researchers blocked off paths and opened up new areas of the maze to test the ants' dynamic problem solving ability.

After an hour, the ants solved the Towers of Hanoi by finding shortest path around the edge of the maze. “Finding the most efficient path through a busy network is a common challenge faced by delivery drivers, telephone routers and engineers,” says Chris Reid, who led the study. AGENCIES

ALL WORK, NO PLAY

[Ants have always fascinated me. As a kid I used spend hours tracing their line and finding out their hideout - used to wonder how they communicate - used to notice how two ants passing by each other would pause just for a moment, may be to greet each other - something like - 'hey man, wats up' or 'how r ya, where r u headed' - then I also remember calculating the speed of an ant when i was 12, using a calculator and then finding out the ratio of human body to an ant's body - then comparing the speed of a human v/s an ant - i don't exactly remember the results of that comparision - was a decade ago when i did it - though I remember that the result was an eye opener - it increased my love and respect towards the ant community :) - sandeep r. sharma]

Worker ants don’t allow any hanky panky in their colony

Worker ants in colonies with a queen are physically attacked by their peers if they try to reproduce, a study says. In ant society, workers normally give up reproducing to care for the queen’s offspring, who are also their brothers and sisters.

The researchers found that chemicals produced by the sneaky ants gave away their fertility status, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The findings by a US-German team of researchers are published in the journal Current Biology.

To test the idea, scientists applied a synthetic compound typical of fertile individuals to non-reproductive worker ants belonging to the species Aphaenogaster cockerelli. In colonies where a queen was present, the workers with the hydrocarbon chemical applied to them were attacked by other ants. The researchers reported that deceitful ants were bitten and pulled by their peers. But this was not the case in colonies without a queen, where ants were free to reproduce.

Co-author Jurgen Liebig of Arizona State University in Tempe, US, said the hydrocarbon chemicals produced by the cheating ants were an “inherently reliable signal”. This “reproductive policing” plays an important role in maintaining harmony in the ant world, Dr Liebig explained.

For cheating to be a successful strategy for some ants, the researchers say, two conditions would need to be satisfied. Firstly, worker ants would need to suppress the hydrocarbon signals on their bodies. Secondly, they would need to continue to express the signal on their eggs, so that their offspring could not be distinguished from those of the queen. AGENCIES