Like Humans, These Ants Can Perform Leg Amputations To Save Lives

Short Wave

NPR

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2024

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

Some ants herd aphids. Some farm fungi. And now, scientists have realized that when an ant injures its leg, it sometimes will turn to a buddy to perform a lifesaving limb amputation. Not only that — some ants have probably been amputating limbs longer than humans! Today, thanks to the reporting of ant enthusiast and science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce, we behold the medical prowess of the ant.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from NPR sponsor Morgan Stanley with their podcast,
0:04.0	What Should I Do With My Money?
0:06.0	Smart people don't always feel smart about money.
0:08.0	Listen to What Should I Do With My Money to hear real people getting real help
0:12.0	from experienced financial advisors.
0:15.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:19.0	Hey Shortwavers, Emily Kwangh here.
0:21.0	We humans, we have incredibly sophisticated kinds of medical care.
0:25.8	Other animals, not so much. Like researchers have seen evidence that some sick animals will
0:30.7	self-medicate by eating clay or certain plants. But there is one creature
0:36.0	in the animal kingdom who takes the practice of medicine, air quotes, medicine to a whole different
0:41.6	level, and that my friends is the tiny
0:44.0	ant which really should not surprise us right I mean ants are amazing I mean some ants
0:48.8	farm they farm fungi for their food they heardids. I mean if they've got agriculture why not medicine?
0:56.4	That is NPR's number one ant enthusiast and science correspondent Nell Greenfield boys.
1:01.6	Hey there. Nell, we Boys. Hey there.
1:03.0	Nell, we wanted to have you on the show because you recently reported on one aspect of
1:07.0	Ant medical care that is truly mind-blowing, at least for me, even if you're not surprised about it.
1:12.0	That's right. I was kind of surprised about this actually,
1:14.8	despite my admiration for Ant's many abilities.
1:17.4	So there's this new research out showing that Ants
1:21.1	will treat certain injuries with therapeutic amputation.
	...

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