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Welcome brave new world: scientists create freakish man-made monster ants with huge heads and jaws
Daily Mail ^
| 9:13 PM on 5th January 2012

| Rob Waugh
Posted on 01/05/2012 6:18:26 PM PST by null and void
Nightmarish 'supersoldier' ants with huge heads and jaws have been created by activating ancient genes.
A supersoldier next to a normal ant: Scientists say they can create the supersoldiers at will by dabbing normal ant larvae with a special hormone - the larvae then develop into supersoldiers rather than normal soldier or worker ants
Supersoldier ants can occur naturally in the wild, but only rarely. In the deserts of America and Mexico, their job is to protect the colony from raids by invading army ants.
The supersoldiers use their enormous heads to block the nest entrance and attack any enemy ants that get too close.
Scientists showed that ordinary ants of the species Pheidole morrisi contain all the genetic 'tools' needed to turn them into supersoldiers - they just need a hormonal push.
The research is reported today in the journal Science.
Scientists created the monster ants in the laboratory by activating ancient ancestral genes
Authors Dr Rajendhran Rajakumar, from McGill University, Canada, and colleagues wrote: 'We uncovered an ancestral development potential to produce a novel supersoldier subcaste that has been retained throughout a hyperdiverse ant genus that evolved 35 to 60 million years ago.'
The results suggest that holding on to ancestral development toolkits may play an important role in evolving new physical traits, say the researchers.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: napl; them
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To: cricket
Doctor's take Hippocratic Oath; what do scientists promise to honor?Grant granters...
41
posted on
01/05/2012 7:48:01 PM PST
by
null and void
(Day 1080 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
To: KosmicKitty
A just man’s heart beats right...
42
posted on
01/05/2012 7:52:52 PM PST
by
null and void
(Day 1080 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
To: KoRn; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...
Am I the only one thinking of
So I Married an Axe Murderer?
43
posted on
01/05/2012 8:06:38 PM PST
by
Slings and Arrows
(You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
To: Slings and Arrows
Am I the only one thinking of So I Married an Axe Murderer?
Yeah. Pretty much.
44
posted on
01/05/2012 8:09:46 PM PST
by
null and void
(Day 1080 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
To: KoRn
“...create ants that are the size of school buses,...” Funny you should bring that up. I was just saying to Mr. SG the other night, “Gee, I wish someone would develop and ant with huge jaws....”
45
posted on
01/05/2012 8:14:14 PM PST
by
Silentgypsy
(If this creature is not stopped it could make its way to Novosibirsk!)
To: null and void
46
posted on
01/05/2012 8:19:16 PM PST
by
dfwgator
To: dfwgator
47
posted on
01/05/2012 8:27:02 PM PST
by
Liberty Valance
(Keep a simple manner for a happy life :o)
To: null and void
Somewhere in Louisiana, someone is already putting together a recipe for them.
48
posted on
01/05/2012 8:28:18 PM PST
by
JRios1968
(I'm guttery and trashy, with a hint of lemon. - Laz)
To: dfwgator
49
posted on
01/05/2012 8:32:32 PM PST
by
rlmorel
("A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Winston Churchill)
To: null and void
Note to self: Buy a bigger bag of Amdro next year.
50
posted on
01/05/2012 8:36:55 PM PST
by
Some Fat Guy in L.A.
(Go Steelers (what's the baseball team called again?))
To: JRios1968
I’m sure that recipe involves rice, a roux and hot sauce.
51
posted on
01/05/2012 8:52:46 PM PST
by
Redcitizen
(If I did a Vulcan mind meld on you, there would not be much to review. ;))
To: Redcitizen
52
posted on
01/05/2012 8:56:39 PM PST
by
null and void
(Day 1080 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
To: cricket
53
posted on
01/05/2012 8:59:17 PM PST
by
rmlew
("Mosques are our barracks, minarets our bayonets, domes our helmets, the believers our soldiers.")
To: Slings and Arrows
54
posted on
01/05/2012 9:04:07 PM PST
by
GQuagmire
('Don't Piss The Lady Off'...)
To: GQuagmire
55
posted on
01/05/2012 9:16:08 PM PST
by
Slings and Arrows
(You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
To: GQuagmire
"HEAD! MOVE!"
56
posted on
01/05/2012 9:20:02 PM PST
by
Slings and Arrows
(You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
To: null and void
57
posted on
01/05/2012 11:53:48 PM PST
by
ketelone
To: null and void
Ahh, yes; the ‘Grants’/lol/sigh. . .
58
posted on
01/06/2012 2:13:59 AM PST
by
cricket
(/get the 'Occupier out of o;ur White House!/ vote Newt 'in'. . .and it is NOT just the economy!)
To: null and void
A just man’s heart beats right... I knew someone would get it :-)
59
posted on
01/06/2012 5:58:38 AM PST
by
KosmicKitty
(WARNING: Hormonally crazed woman ahead!!)
To: Slings and Arrows
“Duuuh gee boss, I’m not real smart. But I lift heavy things!” -big ant.
60
posted on
01/06/2012 6:21:35 AM PST
by
Darksheare
(You will never defeat Bok Choy!)
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