Thursday, August 26, 2010

An Offer I Can't Refuse?

My brother just asked me to join him in a new program. Should I?

From the ScienceCodex note below:

``Finally, individuals must develop genes supporting eusociality, whether by mutation or recombination. Crossing the threshold to eusociality essentially requires that a female and her offspring not disperse to start new, individual nests, but rather remain at the old nest. While eusocial genes have yet to be identified, at least two eusocial ant species are known to have genes that quell the urge to roam from the nest.''

``If these steps are followed and a species becomes eusocial, the evolutionary costs of individuals foregoing reproduction are compensated by the greatly reduced mortality of the queen and her larvae, which are protected by the colony. In some ant species, a queen that might live for only a few months if alone can live for 25 years or more as part of a colony, producing millions of offspring in the process.''

Should I go far from the nest?

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