ratio of word probabilities predicted from brain for ant and lettuce

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ant

lettuce

top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
engine energy gas cell produce air speed type drive increase
top 10 words in brain distribution (in article):
species century form type water plant food produce cover world
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
vehicle fuel wheel power car gear design aircraft oil hydrogen
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article):
wear horse bird woman egg clothe saddle time dress fish
times more probable under ant 30 20 10 6 4 2.5 1.25 1 1.25 2.5 4 6 10 20 30 times more probable under lettuce
(words not in the model)
A phylogeny of the extant ant subfamilies. "'Ants'" are social insects of the family "'Formicidae'", and along with the related wasps and bees, they belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. Today, more than 12,000 species are classified with upper estimates of about 14,000 species. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and a distinctive node-like structure that forms a slender waist. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies which may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. These larger colonies consist mostly of sterile wingless females forming castes of "workers", "soldiers", or other specialised groups. Ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens". The colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony. Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and certain remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in most ecosystems, and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Their success has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships. Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. These parallels with human societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study. Many human cultures make use of ants in cuisine, medication and rituals. Some species are valued in their role as biological pest control agents. However, their ability to exploit resources brings ants into conflict with humans, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. Some species, such as the red imported fire ant, are regarded as invasive species, since they have establish themselves in new areas where they may be accidentally introduced. Taxonomy and evolution. The family Formicidae belongs to the order Hymenoptera, which also includes sawflies, bees and wasps. Ants evolved from a lineage within the vespoid wasps. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that ants arose in the mid-Cretaceous period about 110 to 130 million years ago. After the rise of flowering plants about 100 million years ago they diversified and assumed ecological dominance around 60 million years ago. In 1966, E. O. Wilson and his colleagues identified the fossil remains of an ant ("Sphecomyrma freyi") that lived in the Cretaceous period. The specimen, trapped in amber dating back to more than 80 million years ago, has features of both ants and wasps. "Sphecomyrma" was probably a ground forager but some suggest on the basis of groups such as the Leptanillinae and Martialinae that primitive ants were likely to have been predators under the soil surface. During the Cretaceous period, only a few species of primitive ants ranged widely on the Laurasian super-continent (the northern hemisphere). They were scarce in comparison to other insects, representing about 1% of the insect population. Ants became dominant after adaptive radiation at the beginning of the Tertiary period. By the Oligocene and Miocene ants had come to represent 20–40% of all insects found in major fossil deposits. Of the species that lived in the Eocene epoch, approximately one in ten genera survive to the present. Genera surviving today comprise 56% of the genera in Baltic amber fossils (early Oligocene), and 92% of the genera in Dominican amber fossils (apparently early Miocene). Termites, though sometimes called "white ants", are not ants and belong to the order Isoptera. The termites are actually more closely related to cockroaches and mantids. The fact that ants and termites are both eusocial came about by Convergent evolution. Velvet ants look like large ants, but are wingless female wasps. Etymology. The word "ant" is derived from "ante" of Middle English which is derived from "æmette" and "emmett" of Old English and is related to the Old High German "āmeiza" from which comes "Ameise", the German word for ant. The family name "Formicidae" is derived from the Latin "formīca" ("ant") from which derived Portuguese "formiga", Spanish "hormiga", Lettuce'" ("Lactuca sativa") is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. In many countries, it is typically eaten cold, raw, in salads, hamburgers, tacos, and in many other dishes. In some places, including China, lettuce is typically eaten cooked and use of the stem is as important as use of the leaf. Both the English name and the Latin name of the genus are ultimately derived from "lac", the Latin word for “milk”, referring to the plant’s milky juice. Mild in flavour, it has been described over the centuries as a cooling counterbalance to other ingredients in a salad. In his humorous essay "100 Things I chew", filmmaker John Waters refers to iceberg lettuce as "the polyester of greens". Description. The lettuce plant has a short stem initially (a rosette growth habit), but when it blooms, the stem lengthens, branches, and produces many flower heads that look like those of dandelions, but smaller. This is referred to as bolting. When grown to eat, lettuce is harvested before it bolts. Lettuce is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera. The largest lettuce head, of the Salad Bowl cultivar, weighed 11 kg (25 lb) grown by Colin Bowcock of Willaston, England, in 1974. Cultivation. Lettuce is grown commercially worldwide, hardy to Zone 6, requiring light, sandy, humus rich, moist soil. It dislikes dry conditions and can cause plants to bolt (go to seed). Early and late sowing in sunny positions or summer crops in shade. It is considered fairly easy to grow and a suitable crop for beginners. "Planting Depth:" Some resources suggest planting seeds by covering lightly with soil while others suggest a depth of 1 4 to 1 2 inch "Planting Spacing:" Thin seedlings to 10 cm (4 in) apart for leaf lettuce [1 sq. m (9 sq ft)] and 6 to 8 inches apart for Cos or Butterhead (4 sq ft 1 sq ft), transplant Crisphead seedlings 10 to 12 inches apart in the row (1 sq ft). "Row Spacing:" 12 18 inches apart History. The earliest depiction of lettuce is in the carvings at the temple of Senusret I at Karnak, where he offers milk to the god Min, to whom the lettuces was sacred. Lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac food in Ancient Egypt, and appears as such in "The Contendings of Horus and Seth". Later, Ancient Greek physicians believed lettuce could act as a sleep-inducing agent. The Romans cultivated it, and it eventually made its way to France cultivated of the Papal Court at Avignon. Christopher Columbus introduced lettuce to the new world. Cultivars. There are six commonly recognised Cultivar Groups of lettuce which are ordered here by head formation and leaf structure; there are hundreds of cultivars of lettuce selected for leaf shape and colour, as well as extended field and shelf life, within each of these Cultivar Groups: Some lettuces (especially iceberg) have been specifically bred to remove the bitterness from their leaves. These lettuces have a high water content with very little nutrient value. The more bitter lettuces and the ones with pigmented leaves contain antioxidants. Breeding. "L. sativa" can easily be bred with closely related species in "Lactuca" such as "L. serriola", "L. saligna", and "L. virosa", and breeding programs for cultivated lettuce have included those species to broaden the available gene pool. Starting in the 1990s, such programs began to include more distantly related species such as "L. tatarica". Seed Saving. Inbreeding plant, flowers form in heads of 10-25 individual florets of perfect flowers. Considered suitable for seed-saving beginners Production. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that world production of lettuce and chicory for calendar year 2007 was 23.55 million tons, primarily coming from China(51%), United States(22%) and Spain(5%). Nutrition. Lettuce is a fat free, low calorie food. It is a valuable source of vitamin A and folic acid. Lactucarium (or “Lettuce Opium”) is a mild opiate-like substance that is contained in all types of lettuce. Both the Romans and Egyptians took advantage of this property eating lettuce at the end of a meal to induce sleep. Religious restrictions. The Yazidi of northern Iraq consider eating lettuce taboo.