P. M. Hogan

TL;DR: A range of monodomain nematic liquid-crystal elastomers containing differing proportions of photoisomerizable mesogenic moieties, which turn from a rodlike to a kinked shape upon ultraviolet (uv) irradiation, was studied and theoretical analysis gives a good quantitative agreement with experiment.

TL;DR: It is shown that a key feature of a brain—cross inhibition between the evidence-accumulating populations—also exists in a swarm as it chooses its nesting site, and that cross inhibition between populations of scout bees increases the reliability of swarm decision-making by solving the problem of deadlock over equal sites.

TL;DR: A dynamical systems analysis of a decision-making mechanism inspired by collective choice in house-hunting honeybee swarms reveals the crucial role of cross-inhibitory ‘stop-signalling’, and proposes that the model, and the significant role of the values of the alternatives, may describe other decision- Making systems, and may provide guidance in the design of decision- making algorithms for artificial systems.

TL;DR: It is suggested that speed versus precision trade-offs may occur when individuals within a group need to synchronize their activity, and in collective navigation, cooperative hunting and in certain escape behaviours.

TL;DR: It is shown that familiarization with available nest sites prior to emigration can lead to flexible collective decisions in the house-hunting ant Temnothorax albipennis, and a new analytical model of nest choice in house-hunter ants is developed showing that a fixed-threshold decision strategy at the individual level can Lead to experience-dependent, flexible decisions at the colony level.