Ant colonies operate as tightly coordinated “superorganisms” with individual ants working together, much like the cells of a body, to ensure their collective health. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now discovered that terminally ill ant brood, like infected cells, release an odor signaling their impending death and the risk they pose. This sophisticated early warning system facilitates rapid detection and removal of pathogenic infections. The study was published in Nature Communications.

First Nations Australians are twice as likely as other Australians to be digitally excluded and face barriers to accessing, affording and using the internet. For those living in remote Australia, the barriers are much greater.

In media coverage, individuals’ membership in minority groups, such as their country of origin, is often explicitly mentioned. In contrast, majority membership is usually not highlighted. Does this reflect prejudice against minorities? A study with over 900 participants suggests that it does not. Instead, a fundamental cognitive principle of differentiation drives this pattern: People tend to notice and communicate rare or striking characteristics more readily than common and redundant ones. Artificial intelligence shows the same tendency and even amplifies it. This is reported by a team from the Social Cognition Lab at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, led by Dr. Anna Schulte in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science on December 1, 2025.