Sofia Quaglia

Research on ants, honeybees, locusts, cockroaches and fruit flies offers several lessons for human decision-making. Ant colonies find efficient routes through decentralized pheromone-based cooperation, inspiring optimization algorithms used in logistics and communications. Honeybees reach group decisions through exploration, information sharing and collective verification. Locust studies suggest that allowing temporary neutrality can help divided groups reach clearer consensus, while cockroach simulations indicate that a balance of behavioral diversity and cooperation can accelerate collective decisions. Fruit flies show how external information, internal states and past experience shape risk-sensitive choices, highlighting how stress and hunger can influence human judgment.

Sharks have survived all five of Earth's mass extinctions and possess sophisticated abilities often underestimated by humans. Research indicates that they can distinguish quantities, patterns, colors and musical cues, form long-term social bonds, and learn from one another. Some species have umbilical scars, while sand tiger shark embryos engage in intrauterine cannibalism. Their denticle-covered skin reduces drag, and specialized sensory organs allow them to detect movement, pressure, electrical signals and possibly magnetic fields, helping them locate prey and navigate. Fossil evidence shows that shark ancestors existed roughly 450 million years ago, making them older than trees, dinosaurs, Saturn's rings and Polaris.

Sharks are revealed to possess surprising traits, including the ability to perform basic mathematical tasks, form social bonds, and respond differently to jazz and classical music. Some species give birth through complex reproductive strategies, including intrauterine cannibalism. Their skin is covered in denticles that reduce drag, and they rely on advanced sensory systems to detect electrical signals, pressure changes and magnetic fields. Sharks are evolutionarily ancient, predating trees, dinosaurs and Saturn’s rings, with more than 500 species existing today.