'Jumping genes' may have helped ants thrive after dinosaur-killing asteroid

A study in Science Advances suggests mobile DNA pieces called 'jumping genes' may have helped ants diversify after the asteroid impact that wiped out dinosaurs 66 million years ago, including shaping their chemical communication. The international team was led by Lukas Schrader of Germany's University of Münster. Ants today number more than 15,000 known species.