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. Minke whales make Star Wars noises

    Researchers have identified the dwarf minke whales of Australia as the source of an odd sound like the firing of a Stars Wars laser gun.

  2. Earth

    New test traces underground forest carbon

    An unusual method of studying soil respiration by girdling trees may clear up several vital mysteries in the way carbon cycles through forests.

  3. Catfish can track fish wakes in the dark

    Infrared photography has revealed that catfish can stalk their prey by following wakes underwater.

  4. Cardinal girls learn faster than boys

    A female cardinal learns about as many songs as a male but in one-third the time.

  5. Ecosystems

    Parrot survey finds poaching but also hope

    The largest review yet of wild parrot nesting finds poaching worrisomely frequent but also sees cause for hope in the efects of a U.S. protection law.

  6. A Fly Called Iyaiyai

    All that Latin has its light side.

  7. Slave-making ants get rough in New York

    The whole ant slave-making business turns more violent in New York than in West Virginia, even though it features the same species.

  8. Caterpillars die rather than switch

    A newly identified compound in tomatoes and other plants of the nightshade family turns hornworms into addicts that often starve rather than eat another food.

  9. To save gardens, ants rush to whack weeds

    Ants can grow gardens, too, and the first detailed study of their weeding techniques shows that whether a gardener has two legs or six, the chore looks much the same.

  10. Lyme ticks lurk on golf course edges

    At least half the ticks collected along woodsy edges of five golf courses in Rhode Island carry the baterium that causes Lyme disease.

  11. How spiny lobsters make scary noises

    Spiny lobsters make alarm and protest sounds by drawing their leathery plectra—protrusions at the base of each anntenna—across scaley ridges below their eyes, much like a violin bow pulling across a string.

  12. Outcry saves National Zoo’s research site

    In the final hours, Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small withdrew his proposal to close the National Zoo's research center in Front Royal, Virginia.