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

    Is Amy Tan actually ‘thrilled’ a leech is named after her?

    Novelist Amy Tan answers a lingering question about celebrities honored in scientific names of new species — her namesake is a leech.

  2. Animals

    Rock ant decisions swayed by six-legged social media

    When rock ants start influencing each other with one-on-one social contact, a colony’s collective decisions can change.

  3. Animals

    Saving salamanders from amphibian killer may take extreme measures

    Experience from lethal Bd fungus outbreak is helping researchers defend North America’s salamander paradise from new Bsal threat.

  4. Microbes

    Cyanobacteria use their whole bodies as eyeballs

    Little spheres of cyanobacteria cells roughly focus light on sensitive compounds that let them walk in the right direction.

  5. Animals

    White-tailed deer have their own form of malaria

    The otherwise well-studied white-tailed deer turns out to carry the first malaria parasite discovered in any deer.

  6. Animals

    Harvester ants are restless, enigmatic architects

    Florida harvester ants dig complex, curly nests over, then leave and do it again.

  7. Animals

    Why some birds sing elaborate songs in the winter

    Several obvious hypotheses fail to explain why great reed warblers sing in winter.

  8. Animals

    Devils Hole pupfish may not have been so isolated for so long

    New genetic study questions Devils Hole pupfish’s supposed history of long isolation.

  9. Animals

    Christmas tree worms have eyes that breathe, gills that see

    Christmas tree worms and other fan worms have improvised some of the oddest eyes.

  10. Agriculture

    Just adding pollinators could boost small-farm yields

    Adding pollinators could start closing gap in yields for small farms.

  11. Life

    Search is on for missing pieces in puzzle of male genital diversity

    The debate over extreme diversity of male genitalia needs to rethink the female side. And the landscape.

  12. Environment

    PCB levels still high in Europe’s killer whales, smaller dolphins

    PCBs banned for decades still show up at extremely high concentrations in Europe’s killer whales and other dolphins.