You’ve Never Seen Ants Like This Before
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- A new study published in Nature Methods showcases high-resolution 3-D X-ray scans of nearly 2,200 ant specimens, revealing detailed anatomical diversity.
- The scans were completed in one week using a synchrotron particle accelerator in Germany, a process that would traditionally take years with smaller-scale methods.
- The collection includes a wide range of ants, from large species like bullet ants known for their painful stings to tiny specialist predators of spider eggs.
- The project involved around-the-clock work by scientists, including those from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the 3-D images are freely accessible at antscan.info.
- This extensive imaging effort highlights the ecological importance and complex social structures of ants, which number around 20
