All Stories by Susan Milius
- Life
Hummingbirds take stab at rivals with dagger-tipped bills
Sharp points on the bills of male long-billed hermit hummingbirds may have evolved as weaponry.
- Life
Close look at new fungus reveals origins, spread of salamander killer
A second chytrid fungus described last year targets salamanders and may be spreading in the animal export trade.
- Plants
How female ferns make younger neighbors male
Precocious female ferns release a partly formed sexual-identity hormone, and nearby laggards finish it and go masculine.
- Animals
Hearing awful or great singing changes birds’ choice
A male bird’s serenade inspires reactions that depend on the quality of songs a female has been listening to.
- Paleontology
Extinct giant kangaroos tiptoed one leg at a time
Stiff spines, flared hips and other fossil clues suggest extinct, refrigerator-sized kangaroos stepped one hind leg at a time instead of hopping.
- Animals
Rattlesnakes tutor robot on dune climbing
Snakes sidewinding up sand inspire design improvements for robots navigating treacherous slopes.
- Animals
Baby fish are noisier than expected
Gray snapper larvae may be able to communicate in open water using tiny knocks and growls.
- Life
Fledgling birds change rules for caterpillar color
An unusual experiment shows that larvae lose the advantage of warning colors during the seasonal flush of naïve predators.
- Animals
Sneaky little giraffe weevils beat big rivals
A little stealth gives smaller giraffe weevil males a leg up when competing with big ones for mates.
- Plants
Borrowed genes raise hopes for fixing “slow and confused” plant enzyme
Inserting some bacterial Rubisco chemistry into a plant might one day boost photosynthesis and help raise crop yields.
- Paleontology
Lost-and-found dinosaur thrived in water
Fossils pieced together through ridiculous luck reveal Spinosaurus to be the only known dinosaur adapted for regular ventures into water.
- Life
North American bird update finds a little good news
Conservation measures have succeeded in improving the plight of certain North American bird species, but overall the national report card says “needs improvement.”
