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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Life
Fungal fight club
Combat between fungal individuals is a bit like war between heaps of spaghetti.
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Animals
Comb jelly immune system can spot old enemies
Animal at base of family tree could help researchers understand the evolution of immunity.
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Animals
Mothballs, rubbing alcohol score poorly in tests of DIY bedbug control
Mattress encasement, dry ice in bags, hot clothes dryers do help control infestation.
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Animals
Sea slug mating features a stab in the head
Newly discovered hermaphroditic sea slug deploys specialized needle-thin organ for injections near the eyes.
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Animals
Pink armadillos ain’t your Texas critters
It’s a real animal, the smallest armadillo species in the world. At about 100 grams, it would fit in your hands.
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Life
Morel mushroom may grow crop of its own
A fungus could be a farmer itself, sowing, cultivating and harvesting bacteria.
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Animals
Common pesticides change odds in ant fights
Species’ combat success can rise or fall after repeated exposure to a common neonicotinoid insecticide.
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Plants
Single-sex flowers release his, hers fragrances
Growing on the same tree, male blooms smell different from female blooms in certain tropical plant species.
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Animals
The colorful lives of squid
Your calamari, it turns out, may have come from a temporary transvestite with rainbows in its armpits.
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Animals
Amphibian killer forces immune-cell suicides
Fungal menace to frogs and their kin shuts down key parts of the animals’ defenses.
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Animals
Lurking males lead to hard-to-fertilize mouse eggs
Mixed-sex society raises resistance to sperm in what may be a long-running arms race between the sexes over fertilization.