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. Animals

    Fish in the dark still size up mates

    Female cave fish still have their ancestral preference for a large male, even though it's too dark to see him.

  2. What’s Worth Saving?

    A fracas over a biological term could have huge consequences for conservation.

  3. Animals

    Wasps drive frog eggs to (escape) hatch

    A tree frog's eggs can match their response to the degree of danger: all-out mass action for snakes but less activity for one wasp.

  4. Animals

    Vanishing Vultures: Bird deaths linked to vet-drug residues

    The recent puzzling crash in vulture populations in Pakistan comes not from some new disease but from exposure to veterinary drug residues in livestock carcasses.

  5. Plants

    Dawn of the Y: Papaya—Glimpse of early sex chromosome

    Genetic mappers say that the papaya plant has a rudimentary Y chromosome, the youngest one in evolutionary terms yet found, offering a glimpse of the evolution of sex chromosomes.

  6. Whatever that is, it’s scary

    Tammar wallabies that have lived away from mammalian predators for more than 9,000 years still seem to recognize the appearance of danger.

  7. Kookaburra sibling rivalry gets rough

    The youngest kookaburra in the nest doesn't have a lot to laugh about.

  8. Animals

    Beetle fights bass in mouthwash duel

    A whirligig beetle duels with a hungry fish by dribbling out a repulsive chemical while the fish tries to rinse it off.

  9. Animals

    Cheap Taste? Bowerbirds go for bargain decor

    When male spotted bowerbirds collect sticks and other doodads to wow females, they don't search for the rare showpiece but go for the cheap trinket.

  10. When to Change Sex

    A research team contends that animals that routinely change sex, even those prompted by mate loss or other social cues, tend to do so when they reach 72 percent of their maximum size.

  11. Animals

    Whale Haunt: Nursing, feeding spot found off south Chile

    A survey along the coast of southern Chile has turned up a previously undocumented blue whale hangout that seems to be a feeding ground.

  12. Ecosystems

    Brazil Nut Loss Looms: Harvest may be too heavy to last

    A study of 23 spots in Amazonian forests has raised the question of whether the collection of Brazil nuts—praised as a model of gentle forest use—has reached such levels that it may not be sustainable.