All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
Magnetic field tells nightingales to binge
Young birds that have never migrated before may take a cue from the magnetic field to fatten up before trying to fly over the Sahara.
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Virgin birth infections shift wasp targets
Scientists have found a second bacterial infection that can cause an insect version of virgin births, but this one can affect the host that a wasp attacks.
- Plants
Torn to Ribbons in the Desert
Botanists puzzle over one of Earth's oddest plants: the remarkably scraggly Welwitschia of southwestern Africa.
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Ant invaders strand seeds without rides
Invading Argentine ants may reshape the plant composition of the South African fynbos ecosystem because the newcomers don't disperse seeds.
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Rare sheep cloned from dead donor
An international team used cells from recently dead ewes of the rare mouflon sheep to clone a lamb.
- Ecosystems
Another World Hides inside Coral Reefs
The first systematic survey of crevices inside Red Sea reefs reveals abundant filter feeders that may capture significant nutrients for the reef.
- Animals
Wild gerbils pollinate African desert lily
Scientists in South Africa have found the first known examples of gerbils pollinating a flower.
- Animals
Poison birds copy ‘don’t touch’ feathers
A subspecies of one of New Guinea's poisonous pitohui birds may be mimicking a toxic neighbor, according to a new genetic analysis.
- Animals
Meerkat pups grow fatter with extra adults
Meerkat pups growing up in large, cooperative groups are heftier because there are more adults to entreat for food.
- Animals
Shhh! Is that scrape a caterpillar scrap?
A series of staged conflicts reveals the first known acoustic duels in caterpillars.
- Animals
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!
Hungry chicks cheeping in their nest have inspired a whole branch of scientific inquiry.
- Earth
Bt Corn Risk to Monarchs Is ‘Negligible’
A much-anticipated report states that the most commonly planted forms of genetically engineered Bt corn pose only a "negligible" risk to monarch butterfly populations.
