VIDEO 1:56: Ant-Man, the movie, was one of 20 films on the short list for Hollywood’s 2015 Visual Effects Oscar.
Definitions:
- myrmecology – scientific study of ants
- epigenetics – chemical modification of genetic tendencies
The Marvel Comics hero, Ant-Man, has ant-like powers, which he controls epigenetically, with chemical substances, just like real-life ants.
Wikipedia has listed the following as traits and abilities of the Marvel Comics character, Ant-Man.
- Leading authority in myrmecology research
- Size-shifting from nearly microscopic to ~100 feet gigantic (both at extremes)
- Maintains strength of normal size in shrunken state
- Bio-Energy Projection, also known as a Bio-Sting
- Superhuman strength and agility
. . . . Biophysicist and Security Operations Center expert Dr. Henry ‘Hank’ Pym decided to become a superhero after discovering a chemical substance (Pym Particles) that would allow the user to alter his size. Armed with a helmet that could control ants, Pym would shrink down to the size of an insect to become the mystery-solving Ant-Man.
The strange life of the character, Ant-Man, has been filled with pathos. In describing him as one of “Marvel’s 5 Unluckiest Heroes,” marvel.com gave the following history of how ant-man, the myrmecologist, was succeeded by ant-man, the father:
. . . Pym’s ant-suit was stolen by a fellow super-hero, with the comic-book moniker of Steve Lang, [who], in a desperate attempt to save his daughter from dying of a heart condition, . . . “broke into Dr. Henry Pym’s (the first Ant-Man’s) home, and “commandeered” his Ant-Man guise.”
Source: marvel.com.
Before proceeding to our short curation of a worthwhile article on epigenetics, the scientific root of the “ant-man” concept, treat yourself to this 1 min. 56 sec. trailer of Ant-Man, the 2015 movie, and, if you have not been able to actually see the movie, you may consider yourself respectably informed.
Image: By http://www.flickr.com/people/28277470@N05/ [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Visit the next page to see what scientists are doing to explore the chemical nature of powers of one species of ant.
