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

    Bay leaves may make rat nests nicer

    Wood rats may be fumigating their nests with bits of California bay leaves, sprigs that killed flea larvae in lab tests.

  2. Infected butterflies reverse sex roles

    In butterfly populations afflicted by male-killing bacteria, females gather in frantic swarms to mate.

  3. Ecosystems

    Plight of the Iguanas: Hidden die-off followed Galápagos spill

    Residues of oil spilled in the Galapágos Islands in January 2001 may have caused a 60 percent decline in one island's colony of marine iguanas.

  4. Ecosystems

    Famine reveals incredible shrinking iguanas

    Marine iguanas in the Galápagos Islands are the first vertebrates known to reduce their size during a food shortage and then regrow to their original body lengths.

  5. Animals

    Male bats primp daily for odor display

    For the first time, scientists have described the daily routine of male sac-winged bats gathering to freshen the odor pouches on their wings.

  6. Animals

    Sniff . . . Pow! Wasps use chemicals to start ant brawls

    Wasps sneak around in ant colonies thanks to chemicals that send the ants into a distracting frenzy of fighting among themselves.

  7. Animals

    Walking sticks mimic two leafy looks and split their species

    A species of walking stick may be evolving into two species by adapting to different environments.

  8. Animals

    Mole-rats: Kissing but not quite cousins

    Damaraland mole-rats live underground in rodent versions of bee hives, but a genetic analysis of these colonies finds that kinship isn't very beelike.

  9. Better Mosquito: Transgenic versions spread less malaria

    Genetic engineers for the first time have made a mosquito that's wonderfully bad at transmitting malaria.

  10. Animals

    Gator Feelings: Tough faces, more sensitive than ours

    Alligator and crocodile faces carry pressure receptors so responsive that they can detect ripples on the water's surface from a single falling drop.

  11. Animals

    No Tickling: Common caterpillars deploy defensive hair

    The caterpillars of the European cabbage butterfly have a chemical defense system that scientists haven't documented before.

  12. Rescue Rat: Could wired rodents save the day?

    Researchers have wired a rat's brain so that someone at a laptop computer can steer the animal through mazes and over rubble.