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. Plants

    Why tulips can’t dance

    An elliptical stem gives daffodils an unusual liveliness in the wind compared with tulips.

  2. Animals

    When Ants Squeak

    In the past 20 years, researchers studying sound communication in ants have discovered a sort of ant-ernet, zinging with messages about lost relatives, great food, free rides for hitchhikers, caterpillars in search of ant partners, and impending doom.

  3. Animals

    Bees log flight distances, train with maps

    After decades of work, scientists crack two problems of how bees navigate: reading bee odometers and mapping training flights.

  4. Ecosystems

    Pfiesteria’s Bite: Microbe may kill fish by skinning, not poisoning

    At least one kind of Pfiesteria—accused of killing fish and threatening human health—does not produce a toxin but kills by eating holes in fish's skin, some researchers say.

  5. Plants

    Recent tree scourge poses garden threat

    Lab tests suggest that a lethal disease of oak trees in California and Oregon could strike some popular garden shrubs in the rhododendron family.

  6. Plants

    Disease outpacing control in largest chestnut patch left

    An unusual test of a biological control for the blight that's killing American chestnuts doesn't look good in the largest remaining patch.

  7. Animals

    Hyena androgens exact high cost

    Blocking androgens for spotted hyenas before they're born shows that the exposure of a female fetus to male hormones normally takes a heavy physical toll when females bear their own pups.

  8. Animals

    Deer littermates have different dads

    Twin fawns may not have the same dad—the first time multiple paternity has turned up in a large, free-ranging hoofed mammal.

  9. 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!"

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

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