Study: Ants process information 'more efficiently than Google'

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that worker ants are just as industrious as Aesop's Fables would have you believe.

Researchers in China and Germany, using behavioral mathematics, say that ants leave behind a complex trail of pheromones to help other ants locate food near their colonies.

"While single ants can appear chaotic and random-like, they very quickly become an ordered line of ants crossing the woodland floor in the search for food," Jurgen Kurths, co-author of the study, told The Independent. "That transition between chaos and order is an important mechanism, and I'd go so far as to say that the learning strategy involved in that, is more accurate and complex than a Google search."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up