Ants Perform Surgery to Save Their Friends
leave someone/something alone: to not bother or interfere with a person or thing
Biologist Erik Frank and his colleagues have found that Florida carpenter ants may be the first non-human surgeons. These ants perform amputations to save their nestmates. Usually, ants put antimicrobial goo on injuries. But these carpenter ants bite off the injured leg.
In their experiments, they saw that when ants returned to the nest with a femur injury, other ants quickly amputated the injured leg. This increased their chances of survival to 90%, compared to only 40% for those left alone. The ants seem to know that amputations are effective for femur injuries but not for tibia injuries, where bacteria spread faster.
This behavior shows that they know how to help each other. This study might change how we view these small but remarkable insects.
Sample sentences
1. When I am doing my homework, I ask my sister to leave me alone so I can concentrate.
2. If you see a wild animal, it is best to leave it alone for your safety and its own.
3. Sometimes, when friends are upset, it is good to leave them alone until they feel better.
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Ants may be the only animal that performs surgical amputations