All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
Woodpecker beaks divulge shock-absorbing properties
Scales, sutures and porosity help the birds hammer without going stupid.
- Animals
Narwhal has the strangest tooth in the sea
Sometimes called the unicorn of the sea, the male narwhal’s tusk is actually a tooth. Narwhals detect changes in water salinity using only these tusks, a new study finds.
- Animals
How to milk a naked mole-rat
For the sake of science, Olav Oftedal has milked bats, bears and a lot of other mammals. But a naked mole-rat was something new.
- Animals
Bird mimicry lets hustlers keep cheating
Drongos are false alarm specialists that borrow other species’ warning sounds and freshen up their fraud.
- Animals
Abandoned frog eggs can hatch early
If their father doesn’t keep them hydrated, frog embryos react by hatching early.
- Animals
Frustrated fish get feisty
Smaller rainbow trout become more aggressive towards bigger fish when they don’t their usual treats.
- Animals
Submariners’ ‘bio-duck’ is probably a whale
First acoustic tags on Antarctic minke whales suggest the marine mammals are the long-sought source of the mysterious bio-duck sound.
- Life
The name of the fungus
A rebellion has broken out against the traditional way of naming species in the peculiar, shape-shifting world of fungi.
- Animals
Most extreme female penis is found on cave lice
Female penis, male vagina have been discovered in tiny Brazilian insects.
- Animals
Scent of a fruit fly larva comes from its gut microbes
Microbes in the guts of fly larvae produce smells that attract fruit flies.
- Life
In a crisis, fruit flies do stunt turns
An elaborate monitoring system reveals that fruit flies can execute sophisticated flying maneuvers in the face of danger.
- Paleontology
La Brea Tar Pits yield exquisite Ice Age bees
Ancient bee pupae snug in leafy nest give clues to Pleistocene climate.
