Research Says Ant Amputated Her Nest Friends' Feet To Treat Injuries

Ant illustration. (Unsplash/Steve Tognoli)

JAKARTA - Recent research reveals that ants are doing amputation to treat nest friends who are injured in the thighbones in their colony.

In a study conducted at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, scientists observed the behavior of ants placed in air-conditioned rooms.

Observed, an ant with an injury to his thigh bone was amputated by other ants in the nest by biting, reported by the Daily Sabah August 1.

In an experiment involving 24 ants who suffered injuries to the thigh bone, no ants were injured in their knee bones which were reported to have been amputated.

But it was stated that 21 of the 24 ants who suffered an injury to the thighbone were amputated by other ants in the nest. Observed, three ants, who were injured in the thighbone and were not amputated, died. While 21 ants, who have been "treated," survived.

In the study, it was determined that the amputation was carried out by fellow nests in 76 percent of cases of an ant's thigh bone injury. Meanwhile, it appears that no amputation was carried out in cases of injuries that occurred in the knee bone.

The study, which found the ants can distinguish the types of injuries and adjust their care, was also highlighted as the first example of amputation carried out on individuals infected other than humans in other living species.

The results of this latest study are published in the journal 'Current Biology'.

'Current Biology' is a two-week scientific journal reviewed by colleagues that includes a wide range of biological disciplines, with a particular focus on molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, neurobiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology.