Evolutionary developmental biologist Ehab Abouheif is intrigued by how wing buds affect the growth of ants’ heads and bodies. “The ant on my screen here belongs to the species Pheidole absurda, so named because their heads are so absurdly large relative to their bodies,” says Abouheif. “I focus on how genes that control body development give rise to animals’ diversity of form.” In ants, the same genes produce dramatically different outcomes — from queens to workers and ‘supersoldiers’. The closed border between the United States, where Pheidole ants live, and Canada, where Abouheif works, has added extra uncertainty to his research. (Nature | 3 min read) (Owen Egan for Nature)
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