In this episode, we explore the fascinating relationships between ants and plants. From ants that live inside hollow thorns, defending their host in exchange for shelter, to plants that produce special food rewards to attract their tiny bodyguards—discover the incredible world of mutualism. Learn how some plants have evolved specific structures like domatia and extrafloral nectaries just for their ant partners, and how ants, in return, protect their green hosts from hungry herbivores. Some ant-plant relationships are so tight that neither can survive without the other!

** This episode was dubbed from Portuguese to English using the Eleven Labs artificial intelligence tool **

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

CREDITS

Script: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira and Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Guest Researchers: Inácio Teles and Flávio Camarota

Automatic Dubbing: ElevenLabs (funded by PPG-PSE-USP PROEX funding)

Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Hey, little explorers! Have you ever seen a baby ant? Probably not, because they don't look like their parents at all! In this special kids' episode, we crawl inside the nest to discover what ant's childhood is really like. From tiny eggs to wiggly larvae to pupae, and finally to adult ants, we follow the amazing transformation these little insects go through.

CREDITS

Script: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Revision: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Presentation: Camila Penna

Soundtrack: Carolina Santos and Diogo Leite

Editing: Diogo Leite

Visual Identity: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Translator: João Pedro Moraes

How do ants find their way back home after wandering hundreds of meters in search of food? How do bees communicate the location of flowers with pinpoint accuracy, all through a dance? In this episode, we explore the extraordinary navigational abilities of insects.

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

CREDITS

Script: Nicolas Châline

Host: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

In this episode, we show that ants don't live alone. Inside their bodies thrives a complex community of bacteria, fungi, and microbes that influence everything from digestion to disease resistance. In this episode, we explore the fascinating science of ant microbiota and the invisible partners that help colonies thrive. A deep dive into symbiosis at the smallest scale.

** This episode was dubbed from Portuguese to English using the Eleven Labs artificial intelligence tool **

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

CREDITS

Script: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira and Carolina Santos

Guest Researchers: Marília Bitar and Mariana Barcoto

Automatic Dubbing: ElevenLabs (funded by PPG-PSE-USP PROEX funding)

Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Cover photo: Lanan et al. 2016 (https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej2015264)

Hey, little explorers! Have you ever wondered where ants came from? 🐜✨ In this special episode, we’re going on an adventure back in time—way before dinosaurs!—to discover the amazing story of ant ancestors. We’ll learn how they started as tiny insects and became the super-strong, super-smart colony builders we see today. Put on your adventure ears and let’s uncover the big story of some very small creatures!

CREDITS

Script: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Revision: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Host: Camila Penna

Soundtrack: Radiadora sonorização

Editing: Carolina Santos

Visual identity: Carolina Santos

Translator:João Pedro Moraes

This episode, we move beyond instinct to explore the fascinating frontier of cognition and individual personality in social insects. Discover how scientists test learning and memory in a creature with a brain smaller than a pinhead, and what it reveals about the roots of intelligence.

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

CREDITS

Script: Luana Ferreira Fedele e Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Revision: Nicolas Châline

Host: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Edition: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Cover photo: Sean O'Donnell

Dive deep into the world of nature’s most sophisticated farmers: the leafcutter ants. In this episode, we uncover how these tiny insects have perfected an agricultural system millions of years before humans. Discover their incredible division of labor—from foragers and gardeners to soldiers—and explore the fascinating fungus they cultivate in subterranean farms. We’ll also learn how a colony functions as a true superorganism, communicating and collaborating without a central leader.

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

** This episode was dubbed from Portuguese to English using the Eleven Labs artificial intelligence tool **

CREDITS

Script: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira and Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Guest Researchers: Juliane Lopes and Isabella Bueno

Automatic Dubbing: ElevenLabs (funded by PPG-PSE-USP PROEX funding)

Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Hey, kids! Let's go on a tiny adventure! In this special episode, we meet our incredible six-legged friends: ant! We'll learn what makes an ant an insect, discover their superpowers, and find out why these little creatures are so important and COOL. Perfect for curious young explorers who love bugs, science, and fun stories! Put on your listening ears and join us!

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

CREDITS

Script: Nicolas Châline

Revision: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Tradutor: João Pedro Moraes

How did ants evolve from bees into one of Earth's most dominant and ubiquitous life forms? In this episode, we travel back over 100 million years to meet the ancestors of modern ants and trace their incredible evolutionary journey.

Follow us on Instagram: @sciantific. Tips or questions? Send us an e-mail: [email protected].

** This episode was dubbed from Portuguese to English using the Eleven Labs artificial intelligence tool **

CREDITS

Script: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira and Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Guest Researchers: Fabrício Baccaro and Rodrigo Feitosa

Automatic Dubbing: ElevenLabs (funded by PPG-PSE-USP PROEX funding)

Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos

Soundtrack: Radiadora Sonorização

Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira

Cover photo: Alex Wild

In our debut episode, we explore the world of tropical ants! Meet the nomadic army ants that terrify the forest; the giant Dinoponera, which live without a queen; and the leaf-cutters, farmers for 50 million years. Discover the powerful sting of the bullet ant and a clever species that uses its prey's own spines for defense. A world of complexity on a tiny scale.CREDITSScript: Clover Ribeiro and Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira
Translation: Amanda Montanhini
Hosted by: Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira
Editing: Carolina Rodrigues dos Santos
Review: Nicolas Châline
Visual Identity: Maria Eduarda Lima VieiraCover image: Alex Wild and Canva