In a new scientific research, scientists discovered that the living ant can recognizes the dead one to carry it to the graveyard out of the colony….Glory to Allah…
When an ant dies in an ant nest or near one, its body is quickly picked up by living ants and removed from the colony, thus limiting the risk of colony infection by pathogens from the corpse.
Scientists who studied those insects said that the dead ants release chemicals created by decomposition (such as fatty acids) that signal their death to the colony's living ants.
Ants are small, six-legged insects that can grow up to two inches long. A logical question, is the vague blind nature able to create a creature with that preciseness?
But a new paper is published online in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that all ants, both living and dead, have the "death chemicals" continually, but live ants have them along with other chemicals associated with life – the "life chemicals." When an ant dies, its life chemicals dissipate or are degraded, and only the death chemicals remain.
"It's because the dead ant no longer smells like a living ant that it gets carried to the graveyard, not because its body releases new, unique chemicals after death," said Dong-Hwan Choe, the lead author of the research paper and a graduate student working towards his doctoral degree with Michael Rust, a professor of entomology at UCR.
Ants like human in carrying the dead to the graveyard, God says:
There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.(Quran 6:38).
In this verse a clear reply on any secular scientist who denies the existence of Allah almighty.
Also he says: "There is no mistaking that it is the dissipation of chemical signals associated with life rather than the increase of a decomposition product 'death cue' that triggers necrophoric behavior by Argentine ants". Along with Rust and UCR's Jocelyn Millar, a professor of entomology, Choe used analytical chemistry techniques to identify the "signals of life" in the Argentine ant: the chemicals dolichodial and iridomyrmecin.
"Understanding the exact mechanism of ant necrophoresis will help researchers develop a more environmentally friendly pest management strategy by which we can achieve results with smaller amounts of insecticide," Choe said. "A recent study on Argentine ants that we did in the lab indicated that nestmates can efficiently distribute slow-acting and non-repellent insecticides among themselves via necrophoresis. When an ant exposed to an insecticide dies in the nest, other ants carry its body around, with the insecticide transferring easily from the corpse to healthy ants."
Ants are known by their love to the group work, so it is not a surprise when scientists tell us that live ant carries the dead out of the colony. Glory to Allah!!
A notice and reply on suspicions
I found that the holy verse in (Sûrat Al-An’âm- verse 38) which was mentioned before, is among two verse about the denial of disbelievers. Atheists and disbelievers used to be suspicious about the Qur'an and they used to claim that verses of Qur'an are not connected with each others, indeed they are wrong.
The verse which precedes verse 38 in Sûrat Al-An’âm is the verse 37 as God says in that verse:
And they said: "Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?" Say: "Allah is certainly able to send down a sign, but most of them know not."(Quran 6:37),
after that Allah says in the following verse:
There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.(Quran 6:38).
Allah almighty says about disbelievers and atheists that: (but most of them know not), as they are asking for signs not miracles but because they are deaf and blind of the truth they don't see the many signs of God in universe, so that Allah almighty had mentioned in the next verse (verse-38) a scientific fact that no one ever know about it before is that all creatures are like human. Are they going to believe?!
Let us read the whole three verses:
And they said: "Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?" Say: "Allah is certainly able to send down a sign, but most of them know not.* There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.* those who reject Our Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) are deaf and dumb in the darkness. Allah sends astray whom He wills and He guides on the Straight Path whom He wills(Quran 6:37-39).
Meanings are connected in the holy Qur'an so that Allah almighty says about those disbelievers in verse 36 of Sûrat Al-An’âm:
It is only those who listen (to the Message of Prophet Muhammad (will respond (benefit from it), but as for the dead (i.e. disbelievers), Allah will raise them up, then to Him they will be returned (for their recompense)(Quran 6:36).
References:
- How social insects recognize dead nestmates, www.esciencenews.com
- www.sciencenews.org
- http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/05/05/how.social.insects.recognize.dead.nestmates