Mutant Ants Provide Insights Into Social Interaction

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https://scienceblog.com/495731/mutant-a ... teraction/

Ants genetically engineered to lack their “sense of smell” became unable to communicate, forage or compete to be a queen, as their antennae and brain circuits failed to fully develop. For the first time, researchers successfully shut down a crucial portion of the ant’s olfactory system by using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

“While ant behavior does not directly extend to humans, we believe that this work promises to advance our understanding of social communication, with the potential to shape the design of future research into disorders like schizophrenia, depression or autism that interfere with it,” said corresponding author Claude Desplan, professor at New York University’s Department of Biology.

Positive outlook:
I think if work can go into helping future unborn generations, sure why not.
I have no problem with eugenics when used to potentially improve mental and physical health in future generations.

Negative outlook:
In these ants disabling certain components completely crippled their ability to communicate and operate as a collective. Most worrisome. The same could be done in humans. And to the opposite effect, used to manipulate the human brain into thinking a certain way only and be susceptible to certain types of thought.