Emily Kwong

Yes, that is the dramatic monologue of these infected ants.

Though there is a plot twist.

Huh.

The team looked at pupae that would eventually become queens, like ants that start their own colonies, and they found out two things.

First, that these queen pupae didn't release the signal even when they were infected.

Why not?

Future queens just, they don't signal when they're sick.

They're above the self-sacrifice.

Yes, they are.

And also the infected future queens could fight off the infection on their own.

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Hey, shortwavers, Emily Kwong here.

Hello there, short ravers.

Emily Kwong here with a quick word before the show.

So this week is Giving Tuesday.

That is the global day of generosity that NPR celebrates every year.

But this year is different because it is the first time in 50 years that NPR is operating without federal funding.