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.
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All Stories by Susan Milius
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Climate
Pollen becoming bee junk food as CO2 rises
Rising CO2 lowers protein content in pollen, threatening nutrition for bees.
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Animals
Piggybacking tadpoles are epic food beggars
Tadpoles beg so frantically among mimic poison frogs that researchers check to see whether they’re just scamming.
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Life
New habitat monitoring tools find hope for tigers
Free tools such Google Earth Engine and Global Forest Watch show there’s still enough forest left for tigers — if it’s protected.
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Animals
Lethal bat disease moves west
For the first time, the bat-killing white-nose syndrome shows up west of the Rockies.
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Animals
White-nose bat disease jumps the Rockies to Washington state
For the first time, the bat-killing white-nose syndrome shows up west of the Rockies.
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Animals
Climate change now bigger menace than forest loss for snowshoe hares
Shorter snow seasons push climate change ahead of direct habitat loss as menace for Wisconsin snowshoe hares.
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Animals
It’s an herbivore-kill-herbivore world
Female prairie dogs killing babies of another species might keep competitors off the grass.
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Health & Medicine
Efforts to control mosquitoes take on new urgency
The major mosquito that is spreading Zika virus has quirks that make it one of the toughest to fight.
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Animals
Plain ol’ Texas rat snakes basically match vipers for speed
Rattlesnakes and other vipers are not the fastest fangs in the West.
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Ecosystems
Australian fairy circles first to be found outside Africa
Strange patterns of grassland bald spots called fairy circles show up in Western Australia.
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Ecosystems
FDA predicts no significant environmental impact from GM mosquitoes
The FDA has taken a step in the process of deciding whether to allow the first test release in the United States of genetically modified mosquitoes to fight diseases such as Zika.
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Plants
How to keep seagrasses as happy as a clam
Drought can do more damage to seagrass meadows if their partnership with clams break down.