Ants work together to perform all manner of seemingly complex tasks without a leader telling them what to do. In the February Scientific AmericanStanford University biologist Deborah Gordon explains how the colonies organize their work using simple olfactory interactions and how that collective behavior has evolved to solve diverse ecological problems. Such insights could help scientists better understand other systems that operate without central control, such as the Internet and the brain.
For more on Gordon’s work, watch her TED talk.
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