Susan Milius

Susan Milius

Life Sciences Writer

Life sciences writer Susan Milius has been writing about botany, zoology and ecology for Science News since the last millennium. She worked at diverse publications before breaking into science writing and editing. After stints on the staffs of The Scientist, Science, International Wildlife and United Press International, she joined Science News. Three of Susan's articles have been selected to appear in editions of The Best American Science Writing.

All Stories by Susan Milius

  1. Barks are more than just “Hey, you!”

    Computer analysis of thousands of dog barks suggests that our best friends may be signaling more than just a generalized "Hey you!"

  2. Such jokers, those Komodo dragons

    A study of a young Komodo dragon reveals what a behaviorist says would be considered play if seen in a dog or cat.

  3. Plants

    Bleeding Trees: Microbial suspect named in beech deaths

    A microbe related to the one that caused the Irish potato famine may be killing majestic old beech trees in the northeastern United States.

  4. Health & Medicine

    For Failing Hearts: Gene therapy stops decline in animals

    Tests in hamsters have raised hopes for creating a gene therapy to stop the common downward spiral of chronic heart failure.

  5. Ecosystems

    Making Scents of Flowers

    Science gets the tools to start sniffing around the ecology of floral scent.

  6. Animals

    Redder is healthier in squawking birds

    When barn swallow nestlings open wide for food, their parents may be looking for the healthiest throats.

  7. Evolution may not be slow or random

    Studies of fruit flies taking over the New World and stickleback fish adapting to Canadian lakes suggest that evolution can proceed quickly and take predictable paths.

  8. Animals

    Why don’t racing horses fry their brains?

    Lumpy sacs bulging out of a horse's auditory tubes may solve the mystery of how such an athletic animal keeps its brain from overheating during exercise.

  9. Animals

    Altruistic Sperm: Mouse gametes team up to power one winner

    The sperm of wood mice hook together by the thousands to form high-speed teams racing toward an egg, even though only one of the pack will get the prize.

  10. Tough Tradeoff: Beetle brains show how sex shortens life

    Brain surgery in beetles reveals yet another way that having sex can shorten life.

  11. Aphids with Attitude

    A few aphid species that live socially in groups raise their own armies of teenage female clones.

  12. Animals

    Wasp Painting: Do insects know each other’s faces?

    A researcher who dabbed tiny stripes on the faces and abdomens of paper wasps says that she's found the first evidence that the insects can recognize individuals by their markings.