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Leafcutter ants back up their bite with metal - Californianewstimes.com

Last updated Wednesday, September 22, 2021 10:05 ET , Source: NewsService

What is leafcutter ant? Ants Do you have any similarities between the scores of junior high school students and junior high school students? A mouth full of teeth fastened with metal laces.

Small arthropods such as ants, Spider And scorpions routinely chew, stab, or otherwise stab strong materials such as wood and bark. This is an amazing feat, given that even with our strong jaw muscles, humans struggle to chew like beef jerky (not to mention the bark mass of trees).

But a new study reveals what to give to one group of leafcutter ants (Atta Cephalotes) Their bite.Powerful use microscope, Scientists have found the web zinc Atoms are woven into the biological structure of the ant’s jaw, giving it the durability of a set of stainless steel knives, the researchers said. This smooth distribution of zinc allows the edges of the ant’s teeth to form fine dots — and it keeps them sharp for long periods of time.

“The small animals that had this material, their muscles are more microscopic than ours,” Robert Scofield, a biophysicist and lead author of research at the University of Oregon, told Live Science. rice field. The trick is for ants and other metal-mouthed arthropods to utilize a sharp chopper to apply exactly the right amount of cutting force to cut or hide the leaves.

From previous studies, Scofield and his team knew that ant teeth contained a lot of zinc. But they didn’t know exactly how those metal atoms were arranged and how they helped ants bite. By examining the...

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