Uncategorized
https://nerdist.com/article/cannibal-ants-nuclear-bunker-release/
It’s difficult to imagine a more grotesque idiosyncrasy of life than cannibalism. Eating the flesh of one’s own species is not only intuitively disgusting, but there are even more downsides to the act than you’ve probably imagined. However, when it came to a colony of wood ants that made its home in and around a former nuclear weapons bunker in Poland, cannibalism not only helped the insects to survive, but thrive. And now, for whatever reason, scientists have brought most of them back to Earth’s surface.
A look at the hole through which the worker ants fell. Wojciech Stephan
Newsweek reported on the cannibal ants’ return to the surface, which was enabled by a group of Polish researchers led by Professor Wojciech Czechowski of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In a recently published paper in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, Czechowski et al. discuss the peculiar “colony” of Formica polyctena (wood ants), which was trapped for years inside of the defunct bunker once used to house nuclear weapons. (Colony is in quotations because this massive group of ants only contained workers.)
The wood plank researchers installed in order to evacuated the fallen worker ants. Wojciech Stephan
The authors of the paper note that the subterranean colony of wood ants was an offshoot of another colony that was built in the outdoors, around a ventilation pipe that still extends down into the former nuclear weapons bunker. While the complete upper colony was being built, worker ants would continuously fall down the ventilation pipe, subsequently increasing the new colony’s population size over time. Except, in order for that to happen, the ants needed food, which they didn’t have. But they did have each other’s corpses. The researchers note, by the way, that they could tell that cannibalism was the insect snack du jour because of the fact that many of the ant corpses had holes eaten into their abdomens, or were missing their abdomens altogether.
Cut to today, and the colony, which once contained roughly a million members, has now been almost entirely evacuated. This is thanks to the installation of a wooden board that has allowed most of the trapped ants to reenter the ventilation pipe, and ultimately rejoin the original colony. It’s unclear why exactly the researchers felt the need to evacuate the cannibal ants from their nightmarish underground home, but putting a stop to their twisted dietary dynamic seems like reason enough.
A close-up look at Formica polyctena. Michal Kukla
And for those wondering why researchers would bother studying these ants at all, the authors note that this “case adds a dimension to the great adaptive ability of ants to marginal habitats and suboptimal conditions… as the key to understanding their unquestionable eco-evolutionary success.” Presumably there are some things people could learn from this extraordinary adaptability, although if things ever get this bad for the human race, let’s all hope that aliens or robots come along with a metaphorical wooden board to save us before we turn to munching on each other’s abdomens.
What do you think of researchers releasing a million cannibal ants from a Polish nuclear weapons bunker? Are you glad they’re finally free, or should they have been left in their hole considering how well their population was doing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Header Image: Wojciech Stephan
The post Up to 1,000,000 Cannibal Ants Released from Nuclear Bunker in Poland appeared first on Nerdist.
It’s difficult to imagine a more grotesque idiosyncrasy of life than cannibalism. Eating the flesh of one’s own species is not only intuitively disgusting, but there are even more downsides to the act than you’ve probably imagined. However, when it came to a colony of wood ants that made its home in and around a former nuclear weapons bunker in Poland, cannibalism not only helped the insects to survive, but thrive. And now, for whatever reason, scientists have brought most of them back to Earth’s surface.
A look at the hole through which the worker ants fell. Wojciech Stephan
Newsweek reported on the cannibal ants’ return to the surface, which was enabled by a group of Polish researchers led by Professor Wojciech Czechowski of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. In a recently published paper in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, Czechowski et al. discuss the peculiar “colony” of Formica polyctena (wood ants), which was trapped for years inside of the defunct bunker once used to house nuclear weapons. (Colony is in quotations because this massive group of ants only contained workers.)
The wood plank researchers installed in order to evacuated the fallen worker ants. Wojciech Stephan
The authors of the paper note that the subterranean colony of wood ants was an offshoot of another colony that was built in the outdoors, around a ventilation pipe that still extends down into the former nuclear weapons bunker. While the complete upper colony was being built, worker ants would continuously fall down the ventilation pipe, subsequently increasing the new colony’s population size over time. Except, in order for that to happen, the ants needed food, which they didn’t have. But they did have each other’s corpses. The researchers note, by the way, that they could tell that cannibalism was the insect snack du jour because of the fact that many of the ant corpses had holes eaten into their abdomens, or were missing their abdomens altogether.
Cut to today, and the colony, which once contained roughly a million members, has now been almost entirely evacuated. This is thanks to the installation of a wooden board that has allowed most of the trapped ants to reenter the ventilation pipe, and ultimately rejoin the original colony. It’s unclear why exactly the researchers felt the need to evacuate the cannibal ants from their nightmarish underground home, but putting a stop to their twisted dietary dynamic seems like reason enough.
A close-up look at Formica polyctena. Michal Kukla
And for those wondering why researchers would bother studying these ants at all, the authors note that this “case adds a dimension to the great adaptive ability of ants to marginal habitats and suboptimal conditions… as the key to understanding their unquestionable eco-evolutionary success.” Presumably there are some things people could learn from this extraordinary adaptability, although if things ever get this bad for the human race, let’s all hope that aliens or robots come along with a metaphorical wooden board to save us before we turn to munching on each other’s abdomens.
What do you think of researchers releasing a million cannibal ants from a Polish nuclear weapons bunker? Are you glad they’re finally free, or should they have been left in their hole considering how well their population was doing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Header Image: Wojciech Stephan
The post Up to 1,000,000 Cannibal Ants Released from Nuclear Bunker in Poland appeared first on Nerdist.
It’s not just daemons that make the world of His Dark Materials unlike our own. It has its own unique communities, groups, and organizations. Some resemble ones we know, while others are made up of real witches and talking bears. To help you keep track of them all, here are the different people, clans, species, and institutions introduced or mentioned in the show’s premiere.
HBO/BBC
Magisterium
HBO/BBC
The “all-powerful” ruling group of Lyra’s world is the religious body called the Magisterium. Its hard-line focus on making adherents follow strict articles of faith includes controlling the flow of information. It might grant learning institutions Scholastic Sanctuary to explore scientific discoveries, but the Magisterium has spies everywhere to ensure “heresy” does not spread. Scholastic Sanctuary only serves as impunity when the Magisterium lets it. Those who run afoul of the church’s teachings risk strict rebuke.
HBO/BBC
It most resembles the Catholic Church of our world during the height of its power, and you can read more about the connections between the two here.
Jordan College of Oxford
HBO/BBC
Just like in our own, the University of Oxford in Lyra’s world contains many constituent colleges. Her home, the enormous Jordan College, is one of 23 members. Made up entirely of male educators and administrators, it is also the richest and most prestigious, with some of the most revered scholars and academics calling it home. Led by Clarke Peters’ Master Carne, it is granted Scholastic Sanctuary by the Magisterium so it can pursue “knowledge and academic freedom.” It’s a privilege that must be guarded against the most controversial heretical ideas, like Lord Asriel’s claims other worlds exist.
Mrs. Coulter is a “scholar” at the women’s college St. Sophia’s, though she also has an independent connection with the Magisterium that involves working at the Arctic Institute. However, despite her work for the church it did not want her to know about their concern over Lord Asriel’s work.
Jordan College is roughly located where Exeter College can be found in ours. The two do share some traits, but Jordan is far larger.
Gyptians
HBO/BBC
“Others may see us as outcasts, but we are one unified family.” The nomadic group known as the Gyptians consists of all ages and races. They are fiercely loyal and protective, viewing each other not as neighbors but as family. They live on boats and move their neighborhoods frequently, and are also split up into six different communities. Each has their own leaders who sit on a ruling council, though ultimately the Western King John Faa stands as the Gyptian leader. Since they are not treated as equals by society – as evidenced by the police taking no interest in the missing Billy Costa – they must take matters into their own hands, something they are more than willing to do.
Their name and many of their values and traditions resemble that of Gypsies.
HBO/BBC
Gobblers
HBO/BBC
The shadowy man/group who kidnapped Billy Costa and Roger in His Dark Material‘s premiere are no fairy tale nightmare. They have been stealing children across the country, including 16 young Gyptians. Little is known about them, but both John Faa and Mrs. Coulter believe they take the “children to London” because “it’s the best place to hide them.”
Tartars
The Northern clan only briefly mentioned by Lyra and Mrs. Coulter, who said they are fun to fight, are also found in our world. Tartars include “any member of several Turkic-speaking peoples that collectively numbered more than 5 million in the late 20th century and lived mainly in west-central Russia.” The Tartars of His Dark Materials are great warriors, making them fearsome foes most people would not enjoy fighting.
Armored Bears
Another group in the North are the Armored Bears, a proud warrior clan of enormous talking bears who do not have daemons themselves. Also known as the panserbjørn, armored bears have opposable thumbs, allowing them to be master craftsmen. They make their own armor which is nearly impenetrable. They are also nearly impossible to deceive. While they are mostly solitary figures who live by an older, less structured way of life, they do have maintain a society ruled over by a king.
Witches
Only mentioned in the show’s opening scroll, the human-like Witches of the North are magical creatures who live long lives, up to 1,000 years. They also have daemons, but theirs’ are not bound to stay as close to them as humans. Witches also have many other powers that keep them safe, but it’s their belief in an important prophecy about Lyra that could bring them all into harm’s way.
Got it? Good, because that was only the first episode, and there are many more groups and institutions to come – in many worlds.
Featured Image: HBO/BBC
The post The Different Clans and Institutions of HIS DARK MATERIALS appeared first on Nerdist.