All Stories by Susan Milius
- Life
Sexual conflict in mosquitoes may have worsened spread of malaria
Sexual conflict in Anopheles mosquitoes may have intensified their power to fuel human malaria.
- Life
The eyes have it: Long lashes not so lovely
Eyelashes can’t be too short or too long without ruining their aerodynamic protection.
- Animals
Flamboyant old bustards keep showing off
Among outrageously flirtatious birds called houbara bustards, old males may pay a penalty for years of extreme display.
- Ecosystems
Bluebird moms inadvertently fuel wars between species
Extra hormones delivered to eggs holding sons in tough times end up driving one bluebird species to chase off another
- Ecosystems
Fooled you! Whirling tails of luna moths deflect bat attacks
Luna moths can use their tails to reflect the echolocation pings of bats, tricking the predators into striking the tails instead of less expendable body parts.
- Environment
A coast-to-coast picture of America’s cacophony of sounds
The National Park Service mapped noise across the United States.
- Paleontology
Earliest tree-dweller, burrower join mammal tree of life
Fossils show mammal ancestors did a lot more than cower in dinosaurs’ shadows.
- Animals
When you’re happy and you show it, dogs know it
A new test using pictures of halves of human faces challenges dogs’ abilities to read people’s emotions.
- Ecosystems
Noise made by humans can be bad news for animals
Animals live in a world of sounds. Clever experiments are finally teasing out how human-made noise can cause dangerous distractions.
- Plants
Fairly bad pitcher traps triumph in the end
Carnivorous pitcher plant traps rarely catch much, but their lackadaisical hunting turns out not to be so lame after all.
- Ecosystems
Termite mound paradises help buffer dry land against climate change
Landscapes dotted by Africa’s great termite mounds look on the verge of turning into desert but are, in fact, more resilient.
- Animals
Cockroach personalities can speed or slow group decisions
The mix of temperaments in an alarmed cluster of cockroaches changes how quickly they make group decisions.
