It is surprising to many that humans and insects share many genes, including ones for Alzheimer's disease and alcoholism. Dr. Christopher D. Smith's latest NIH grant proposes to develop ants as a model system to study genes implicated in human behavioral disorders including William's-Beuren Syndrome and autism. His lab will perturb the expression level of human disease gene orthologs in ants using RNA interference and transgenic techniques. Using custom vision tracking software funded by SFSU Center for Computing for Life Sciences (CCLS) minigrant and developed by SFSU CS faculty (Ilmi Yoon), staff (Mike Wong), and students (Philip Burkhardt) at SFSU, biology graduate student Jennifer Placek and other members of the Smith lab will use quantitative PCR to measure the expression level of genes in ants and correlate those results with data derived from video analysis using AntWatcher. The software is able to discern hundred of individual ants and track their every move, estimate how many ants are in a group, specific how far individuals travel and for how long the interact. AntWatcher data, coupled with molecular analyses, promise to offer new insights into the genetic and environmental factors affecting complex social behavior and the genetic components of human neurological diseases.