Cremer S, Sixt M
Nat Rev Immunol 22, 713–714 (2022)
doi: 10.1038/s41577-022-00797-y
Abstract
Social distancing is an effective way to prevent the spread of disease in societies, whereas infection elimination is a key element of organismal immunity. Here, we discuss how the study of social insects such as ants — which form a superorganism of unconditionally cooperative individuals and thus represent a level of organization that is intermediate between a classical society of individuals and an organism of cells — can help to determine common principles of disease defence across levels of organization.