All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
When mom serves herself as dinner
For this spider, extreme motherhood ends with a fatal family feast.
- Animals
Whether froglets switch sexes distinguishes ‘sex races’
Rana temporaria froglets start all female in one region of Europe; in another region, new froglets of the same species have gonads of either sex.
- Plants
Bits of bacterial DNA naturally lurk inside sweet potatoes
Samples of cultivated sweet potatoes worldwide carry DNA from Agrobacterium cousin of bacterium used for GMOs.
- Animals
Gazing deeply into your dog’s eyes unleashes chemical attraction
Dogs and people gazing into each other’s eyes give each other a bond-strengthening rush of oxytocin.
- Animals
Shimmer and shine may help prey sabotage predators’ aim
Iridescent prey was more difficult to strike in a video game for birds.
- Plants
Plants suck in nicotine from nearby smokers
Peppermint plants can build up nicotine from tobacco dropped on their soil or smoked indoors.
- Life
It’s true: Butterfly spots can mimic scary eyes
Contrary to recent studies, the old notion that butterfly wing eyespots evoke predator eyes may not be so old-fashioned after all.
- Animals
Mouse mates with similar personalities start families faster
Among monogamous mound-building mice, the more closely mates match in a tendency toward anxiety, the sooner they start having babies
- Life
No-fishing scheme in Great Barrier Reef succeeds with valuable fishes
Coral trout are thriving in marine protected areas in the Great Barrier Reef, but the no-take zones are having a smaller effect on other reef residents, a new 10-year report card shows.
- Animals
Neandertal of ant farmers grows modern food
The most old-fashioned fungus-growing ant yet discovered grows a startlingly new-fangled crop.
- Paleontology
Fossil of monstrous fish-eating amphibian unearthed
A new Triassic species of giant amphibian lived like a crocodile instead of like its cute little salamander and frog relatives of today.
- Animals
Piggyback rides and other crocodile fun
We don’t know the playful side of crocodiles perhaps only because we haven’t looked.
