00:00Ants are notoriously well-organized, with their colonies featuring perfectly hewn lines
00:08of millions of insects working in tandem, and now scientists say it's likely due in
00:12large part to their ability to communicate, something they might even do better than us.
00:17According to the study's lead author, Dr. Taylor Hart, ants have developed an extremely
00:21sophisticated olfactory system, according to her.
00:24This lets the ants communicate with different pheromones, which mean different things.
00:27They have developed this ability over the course of their 168 million year existence,
00:32building colonies when the dinosaurs still ruled the earth.
00:35The researchers discovered their communicative abilities, first by developing an engineered
00:39protein which illuminates when ant brain activity ignites, and they found that their brain would
00:43light up when different actions were in play, such as when they were in panic mode, meaning
00:47fleeing, evacuating their colony, or transporting offspring.
00:51The researchers say this is key in better understanding how their colonies work, and
00:54how they are so good at avoiding traps set by humans.
00:57It also explains why the larger colony is so good at providing for itself, and could
01:01someday explain how their complex societal structure is laid out.
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