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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Animals
When tarantulas grow blue hair
Azure coloring is surprisingly common in the spiders, though they themselves are colorblind.
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Climate
Arctic passageways let species mingle
People aren’t the only animals likely to use passages that open up as the Arctic melts.
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Animals
Puff adders appear ‘invisible’ to noses
The snakey scent of puff adders proves difficult for even sensitive animal noses to detect.
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Life
Year in review: Microbe discoveries spur rethink of treetop of life
Microbes discovered in Arctic mud this year could be the closest relatives yet found to the single-celled ancestor that made life so complicated.
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Animals
Year in review: Woes of artificial lighting add up for wildlife
Studies published this year add dodging death, flirting and mothering to the tasks that artificial light can discombobulate in wild animals.
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Life
Science explains what makes dogs such sloppy drinkers
There’s hidden precision in the splashy mess of a dog drinking.
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Animals
Pygmy slow loris hibernates in winter
The pygmy slow loris truly hibernates, making it the first primate found outside Madagascar to do so, a new study says.
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Animals
Pygmy slow loris in Asia takes unusual downtime in winter
The pygmy slow loris is the first primate outside Madagascar found to hibernate.
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Animals
Mystery deepens for what made tarantulas blue
Blue hair on tarantulas shows what evolution does with iridescence that females probably don’t care about.
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Animals
How to see with eyes made of rock
Tiny mollusk eyes in chiton armor can pick up rough images.
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Animals
Ponds and their toads cured of dreaded disease
Treating both tadpoles and their ponds for infection by deadly Bd chytrid fungus lets midwife toads go wild again.
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Plants
Genetic battle of the sexes plays out in cukes and melons
Genetics reveals new approach to preventing inbred seeds and encouraging more fruitful crops.